Thune Files Bipartisan Bill to Strengthen Federal Conservation Program

By Joshua Haiar

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators, including Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., introduced legislation recently to improve a federal conservation program with changes, including a higher maximum annual payment for landowners.

The Conservation Reserve Program pays farmers and ranchers to remove environmentally sensitive land from agricultural production, and maintain grass, trees, and other plant species on enrolled acres. That helps prevent soil erosion, filters runoff that enters waterways, and establishes habitat for wildlife. Landowners may be allowed to conduct livestock grazing, haying, and seed-harvesting on the land.

“I’m proud to lead this commonsense legislation that would help advance the multiple-use benefits of this conservation program, including wildlife habitat and livestock forage potential,” Thune said in a news release.

The Conservation Reserve Program Improvement and Flexibility Act was introduced by Thune along with Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Jerry Moran, R-Kan., and Tina Smith, D-Minn. 

The bill would increase the annual payment limitation from $50,000, which was established in 1985, to $125,000 to account for inflation and rising land values. It would also provide cost-share funds for establishing grazing infrastructure, such as fencing and water tanks, on all contracts where grazing is included in the approved conservation plan; expand a program that helps landowners plant trees and create wetlands on enrolled acres; and more easily allow enrolled acres to be hayed during drought conditions. 

“When land sits idle, it doesn’t just go unused, it declines, and so do the small towns and rural communities that depend on active land management,” Warren Symens, president of the South Dakota Cattlemen’s Association, said in the news release.

Wildlife conservation groups praised the bill, anticipating the changes would result in more acres enrolled in the program. Andrew Schmidt, director of government affairs for Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever, said in the news release that the bill “will make this critical program work better for farmers, ranchers, rural communities, and wildlife.”

As of last year, Conservation Reserve Program contracts encompassed nearly 2.4 million acres in South Dakota. Annual program payments in South Dakota totaled $137 million, with an average payment per acre of $57.40.

A version of this story was originally published by South Dakota Searchlight, which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. South Dakota Searchlight maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Seth Tupper for questions: [email protected].