Farm Bill: The Numbers You Need to Know
Christine Cadigan is the Manager of Public Affairs at the American Forest Foundation.
The 2008 Farm Bill included significant improvements for forest owners, supporting more forest conservation and agroforestry practices and activities across the country. In the 2012 Farm Bill, we hope to build on the success of the 2008 Farm bill and make further improvements, while respecting the budget situation. Here are some hard facts that stress the importance of Farm Bill programs:
- 57 million forest acres could be lost to development pressures by 2030.
- Invasive species, insects and diseases threaten roughly 58 million acres of forests.
- Wildfires threaten as much as 400 million acres of private forests.
- Only 4% of the more than 10 million family forest owners have a forest management plan.
- Forest owners currently use 6% and 25% of EQIP and WHIP dollars, respectively, to combat these threats and make their forests healthy and productive.
Farm Bill conservation programs are essential tools forest owners use to leverage their own time, energy and investments to be better stewards of our nation’s forests—forests that provide clean air, clean water, wildlife habitat and forest products we use every day.
As a leader in the Forests in the Farm Bill Coalition, the American Forest Foundation recently coordinated an effort to unify 70 different national and state organizations around specific 2012 Farm Bill recommendations which were presented to House and Senate Agriculture Committees.
The Coalition asks that the Committees focus on the following four key priorities:
- Including strong provisions for forests in conservation programs;
- Strengthening forestry outreach, education, research and inventory programs;
- Combating forest-related invasive species; and
- Improving forest market opportunities.
AFF is committed to working with the Agriculture Committees and the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (aka Super Committee) to provide recommendations that work best for forest owners.
Check out AFF’s more detailed 2012 Farm Bill recommendations and send a copy to your Members of Congress now!
Photo credit: Tree Farmer Wallace Erickson of Hager City, Wisconsin
