ST. PAUL, Minn. - While midterm elections dominate the news, Midwest farmers are left guessing when Congress will pass a new farm bill - or at least extend the current bill.
The 2014 bill expired Sept. 30, but some programs such as SNAP food assistance continue until a new bill is in place. Others are not so lucky, and have been suspended.
Wisconsin farmer Ryan Stockwell, director of sustainable agriculture for the National Wildlife Federation, said he hoped to enroll in the Conservation Stewardship Program this year. However, he's now uncertain if that will be possible.
"This should be and ought to be a part of the vision for agriculture, wherever you're sitting," he said. "Helping farmers improve profitability while protecting vital natural resources - that should be something that everybody stands up and supports."
The absence of a farm bill also means enrollment is suspended in the Conservation Reserve Program. In Congress, a conference committee has been meeting to resolve differences between the farm bill passed by the Senate on a 86-11 vote and the House version that passed with a much narrower margin, 213 to 211. The House bill would make dramatic cuts to conservation programs over the next 10 years.
Like Stockwell, Tom Cotter, who farms 1,100 acres near Rochester, has had great success with cover crops in the past 20 years, and he relied on federal funds to get started. He said there was a big learning curve, but it has been worth it.
"Farming with cover crops is like checkers and chess," he said. "The old way of farming was checkers, real easy; we could use our chemical. But now, when you're doing cover crops, you have to start thinking more."
Cotter said he initially used cover crops to help with weed suppression, but now also relies on them as a conservation measure to curb soil erosion, curtail nutrient loss and conserve water.
"I'd say for the last five, six years we took all that knowledge and really started implementing it on every acre, every year," he said. "And then now, we put in the no-till and strip-till in it, too."
It's possible Congress may take up farm bill discussions after the midterm elections in about three weeks.
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A new report found four dams in the Columbia River Basin are big emitters of methane.
Research from the organization Tell The Dam Truth showed the four lower Snake River dams in eastern Washington emit the equivalent of 1.8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide each year.
Robin Everett, deputy western region field director for the Sierra Club, said it undercuts some of the claims the dams are helping provide the region with clean energy.
"It's really clear from this report that we have to take this a lot more seriously that there are some real impacts as far as emissions go from these dams," Everett asserted.
The reports showed the dams produce the equivalent emissions of burning 2 billion pounds of coal annually. Defenders of the dams counted they are important for barging and irrigation for the area's agricultural lands.
But Everett pointed out the dams have another effect on the region: they block the dwindling population of salmon and steelhead from traveling upstream on the Snake River. She noted it not only hurts fish populations but the tribes relying on them.
"We have an obligation for them to be able to fish and if there are no fish to fish, we have broken the treaties," Everett contended
Chinook salmon are also an important source of food for orca on the West Coast. Everett added protecting salmon is important for tribes and the region as a whole.
"Our moral obligation to the salmon and the orca that depend on them are met as well," Everett concluded.
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A proposed pumped-storage hydroelectric facility for Cuffs Run near the Susquehanna River in York County has been challenged by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
The foundation filed a motion to intervene in the proceedings with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which is considering granting a preliminary permit to build a 1.8-mile-long dam for the project.
Harry Campbell, science policy and advocacy director for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, said they are working to stop the project in order to protect the unique Cuffs Run area and its ecological benefits for future generations.
"If approved, this project would destroy it about 580 acres of prime farmland, fields and forests, some of which have not been disturbed in about 100 years," Campbell pointed out. "Those farms, fields and forests exist harmoniously with and in support of a plethora of plant and animal life."
The foundation is circulating an online petition and encouraged Pennsylvanians to provide comments before Sunday.
The stream is home to naturally reproducing brook trout. Advocates worry the $2.5 billion project would also be harmful to the Susquehanna River. Campbell noted about 40 families would be displaced.
"For those who call Cuffs Run home, it's more than just a place to live. It's their heritage and they want it to be part of their legacy," Campbell asserted. "This project just simply is the wrong idea in the wrong place. In order to honor that heritage and that legacy, we need to preserve this area."
Campbell emphasized the Cuffs Run project is about 993 acres of land draining into a 2.5-mile unnamed tributary. He added in terms of stream habitat, the rocks, pebbles and woody material have been identified as among the best in the region for supporting critters living in the water.
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Tennesseans want more say in how the Tennessee Valley Authority plans for their future electricity needs and a bill now in Congress could give the public more influence.
The "TVA Increase Rate of Participation Act," would require a more open decision-making process for the utility.
Brianna Knisley, director of public power campaigns for Appalachian Voices, said the TVA is currently developing its new Integrated Resource Plan to meet future energy demands. The bill would require more public participation in the plan's proceedings.
"Right now the stakeholders who get to provide input early on in the IRP process are all hand-selected by TVA," Knisley pointed out. "You can't choose to be in that IRP working group. And those are the only folks who get substantial input in the architecture of the IRP, as it's being designed."
The utility serves more than 10 million people across six states. The TVA said it is reviewing the legislation. A draft of the plan will be published at a later date. The TVA said it already has a "robust stakeholder engagement plan."
After the plan is released, Knisley noted public input happens during what's known as the scoping phase of the National Environmental Policy Act. Open houses are set up, where the TVA answers questions from the public. Knisley encouraged Tennesseans to raise any of their concerns during the public and virtual hearings.
"I think additional public input into our region's long-term energy plan is only going to strengthen outcomes," Knisley contended. "And make that long-term energy plan better meet the needs of the Tennessee Valley, as a whole."
She added it is important for Tennesseans to work with Congress on the best way to improve public input in the TVA decision-making process.
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