Agriculture and the Farm Bill

Eighty percent of threatened and endangered species rely on privately owned land for their habitat needs and in the U.S. most of our private land is managed by farmers, ranchers and forest landowners. This makes federal agricultural policy an extremely important part of our work to protect wildlife.

Every 5 years, the U.S. Congress passes a ‘Farm Bill’ - almost $1 trillion in taxpayer support for farm subsidies, conservation investments and assistance for the hungriest Americans.  With staff expertise in policy, science, and economics, Defenders is winning changes in federal programs that encourage landowners to protect and restore wildlife.  We are also fighting against proposed wasteful crop subsidy program changes that would encourage farmers to destroy more habitat.

On dotWild

Read the latest news on the Farm Bill and other areas of agricultural policy with analysis from our experts on implications for wildlife.

Farm Bill posts

Agriculture posts

Defenders in Action: The 2012 Farm Bill

Congress reauthorizes the Farm Bill every five years. The current Farm Bill is set to expire on September 30, 2012. As Congress works on the 2012 Farm Bill, Defenders is working to:

• Maintain funding for conservation programs that provide billions of dollars each year to farmers restoring and conserving habitat.
• Preserve the most successful farm conservation program which has a 30-year history of protecting prairies, wetlands and soil by requiring farmers to adopt a conservation plan in exchange for taxpayer subsidies.

For more details on how the 2012 Farm Bill could impact wildlife and habitat, check out our latest fact sheets and publications:

Fact sheets:

What’s Crop Insurance Got to do with Conservation?

House Farm Bill – Backward Steps for Wildlife

The Farm Bill and Wildlife: Grassland Conversions Threaten the Lesser Prairie Chicken

Expanding Crisis in the Prairie Pothole Region

Losing Sage Grouse through Farm Subsidies

Crop Insurance and Wildlife: Swift Fox at Risk

Other publications:

November 13th Letter to President Obama

Plowed Under: How Crop Subsidies Contribute to Massive Habitat Losses

Defenders in Action: Partnerships for Farming and Wildlife in California

Our staff in California are working with partners to ensure the viability of California’s farms and ranches while also protecting wildlife habitat. Read more about these partnerships here.

Agriculture and Farm Bill Team

Tim Male, PhD.
Vice President, Conservation Science and Policy
tmale@defenders.org

Alli Sribarra
Conservation Science and Policy Coordinator
asribarra@defenders.org

Jim Lyons
Senior Director, Renewable Energy
jlyons@defenders.org

Alex Adams
Government Relations Associate
aadams@defenders.org

Clay Ogg, PhD.
Director, Conservation Economics and Finance
cogg@defenders.org

Pelayo Alvarez, PhD.
California Rangeland Conservation Coalition Program Director
palvarez@defenders.org