Home News & Events Comments to USDA Favor Livestock Limits Sustainable Farming Connection Where farmers find and share information. Comments to USDA Favor Livestock Limits 78% say limit the size of farms eligible for EQIP funds, according to a survey by the National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture. 2/30/97: On Feb. 25, the National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture released an analysis of comments submitted to USDA on its draft rule to set no limits on the size of livestock operations eligible for assistance from the new Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). Kathleen Merrigan, policy analyst at the Henry A. Wallace Institute for Alternative Agriculture and a member of the Campaign, said, "Our detailed analysis reveals that more than three out of four respondents favor setting national limits on the size of livestock operations eligible for assistance from EQIP. Of the 393 letters received on the issue of herd sizes, 305 supported national limits." Respondents came from 37 different states. Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri and Minnesota were the states with the most responses. "I was encouraged to see so many letters from family farmers urging Secretary Glickman to reverse his decision and set meaningful national limits," Merrigan continued. "Many of them argued that Glickman should fulfill the intent of Congress and make sure that EQIP is targeted to help small- and moderate-sized farms." Merrigan added, "Respondents were particularly concerned that without national limits, tax dollars would be used to subsidize large corporate livestock operations in the building and operating of more large manure lagoons." These lagoons are responsible for serious water pollution problems, she noted. Merrigan concluded, "I urge Secretary Glickman to listen to these voices from the grassroots and set national limits. It is the only way to assure the public that EQIP will not become just another government subsidy for large corporate farms." The National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture supports using the Clean Water Act definition of a large livestock operation which would deny EQIP funds to operations with more than 100,000 chickens, 2,500 hogs or 1,000 beef cattle on the farm at a given time. States would be free to set stricter limits. This way, the program could work as designed -- to help small- and moderate-sized farmers correct any environmental problems that arise on their farm. After several delays, a final decision from USDA is expected shortly. The Henry A. Wallace Institute for Alternative Agriculture is a non-profit membership research and education organization that facilitates the adoption of sustainable practices in agriculture. The National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture is a network of more than 500 groups working to strengthen family farms, protect the environment and foster a sustainable food and agriculture system. From a news release by the National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture email: Campaign@magiccarpet.com P.O. Box 396 Pine Bush, NY 12566 Phone: (914) 744-8448; Fax: (914) 744-8477 For more information, contact: Kathleen Merrigan 202-544-0705; email merrigan@access.digex.net Rob Horowitz 908-940-6417; email rhorow3270@aol.com Brad DeVries 202-547-5754; email bdevries@cais.com Top of Page Home News & Events Comments to USDA Favor Livestock Limits ©1997 Committee for Sustainable Farm Publishing Please read about our usage permission policy and disclaimer. Send comments, suggestions and questions to the site author: Craig Cramer cdcramer@clarityconnect.com Coded using HoTMetaL Pro 3.0. Best viewed in Netscape 3.0 or later. Please see our credits page for more information. http://sunsite.unc.edu/farming-connection/news/stories/970230.htm