Defenders' Experts
Additional Information about the Farm Bill
This page explains more about the 2002 Farm Bill, the importance of fully funding the farm bill conservation programs, Defenders of Wildlife’s investigation into the Farm Bureau, and our work with family farmers.
The 2002 Farm Bill
Defenders of Wildlife played a key role in making the 2002 Farm Bill a historical investment in conservation.
Summary of 2002 Farm Bill Provisions
The 2002 Farm Bill made an unprecedented commitment to providing farmers and ranchers with the technical and financial assistance they need to enhance wildlife habitat, restore wetlands, and implement practices that improve air, water and soil quality. However, in the years since, the President and Congress failed to provide the promised funds for these important efforts.
Year after year agricultural conservation programs – a critical component of the farm bill – have borne the brunt of the budget axe. Despite the fact that these conservation programs provide meaningful benefits to both farmers and the environment, the administration has yet to fully fund these programs at the levels authorized in the Farm Bill.
Amber Waves of Gain
When the American Farm Bureau Federation tried to put a halt to the Northern Rockies wolf reintroduction program, Defenders of Wildlife decided to learn a bit more about the Farm Bureau – a powerful force shaping US agricultural policy.
- Amber Waves of Gain, Defenders of Wildlife’s investigative report on the American Farm Bureau Federation (April 2000)
- The Farm Bureau Vs. Wolves, Rodger Schlickeisen’s Spring 1998 Defenders magazine editorial
- The Farm Bureau Vs. Nature, Article in Defenders magazine, Fall 1998, by Vicki Monks
Agriculture Policy for Family Farmers
Defenders of Wildlife looks to farmers to find out how agriculture policy could work for small-scale producers and reward stewardship.
- Voices of the Family Farm. In a “virtual conference,” Defenders asked family farm leaders from around the country how to improve agriculture policy.
- Roots of the Rural Crisis. How do low prices and overproduction feed into each other and drive other problems in rural America?
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