On
January 27th of this year, the Biden administration put out a wide-ranging
Executive Order on tackling climate change.
Tucked
in the executive order was a line directing the Secretaries of Agriculture,
Interior, and Commerce to develop a plan to conserve at least 30 percent of our
lands and waters by 2030.
This
plan is commonly referred to as 30 by 30.
To
reach the Biden administration’s goal of 30 percent of land in conservation by
2030, the federal government will have significant work ahead of them.
30
percent of the land would mean that we’ll need 440 million additional acres in permanent
conservation.
To
put 440 million acres of land into perspective, it is the equivalent of taking
the state of Iowa and putting all of our land into permanent conservation. Then,
repeating that eleven more times to reach the Biden administration’s goal of 30
percent of land in conservation by 2030.
This
is not an attempt at conservation, it’s an attempt at confiscation.
Between
the 30 by 30 land grab, and the WOTUS rewrite, it is clear that the Biden
administration simply does not understand rural America.
If
they did understand, then they would realize that farmers are the first and
best conservationists.
If
the United States decides to go forward with the 30 by 30 plan, we already know
what will happen.
This
rhetoric empowers our nation’s corn and soybean competitors to increase their
output.
Take
Brazil. This week their House of Representatives advanced a bill that President
Bolsonaro supports that allows squatters on public land in the Amazon Rain
Forest to more easily receive deeds to their properties.
This
allows the squatters to burn the forest to plant corn and soybeans.
Brazil
has already plowed under more than half of the Cerrado, which is tropical
savanna.
The
Cerrado is a vital storehouse for carbon dioxide that has been disappearing at
a rate four times faster than the Amazon rainforest.
If
we tie the hands of American farmers, our competitors like Brazil will continue
to meet the needs of a growing, hungry world.
And
by 2050, the world population will grow to nine billion people.
The
United States should not cede our leadership in production agriculture to other
countries that have poor environmental standards.
The
five-year Farm Bill already does a great job at encouraging farmers and
landowners to preserve fragile lands, enhancing environmental benefits for all
Americans.
These
Farm Bill provisions are referred to as working lands programs – Programs like
the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and Conservation
Stewardship Program (CSP).
These
programs provide incentives to help producers adopt management practices on
their ground that allows the land to stay in production while improving
environmental outcomes.
If
the Biden administration focused on these programs, my speech today would be
praising those efforts.
But
instead, they have proposals that take productive farmland out of production, placing
the U.S. at a competitive disadvantage.
These
ideas also make it harder for new and beginning farmers to compete on rental
rates and gain access to land.
Farmers
understand how conservation and sustainable agriculture affects productivity
and generational prosperity.
It’s
important for us to leave the land better than we found it for our children and
grandchildren.
So
far the Biden administration has said their 30 by 30 plan focuses on voluntary
measures.
But
to get 440 million additional acres in conservation, you would be foolish to
think voluntary measures are going to get you there.
Instead
of focusing on taking more land out of production agriculture, let’s work on a
strategy that allows farmers to continue to farm their land while improving
environmental outcomes.