USDA Breaks New Ground In Conservation
Under the farm bilVs swampbuster and sodbuster provisions ,
plowing marginal land can become costly
UNIVERSITY PARK - Farm
ers planning to break sod in order
to plant crops should check with
their local Agricultural
Stabilization and Conservation
Service office first. They could
violate provisions of the Food
Security Act of 1985 and lose
eligibility for certain U.S.
Department of Agriculture
programs.
Under the “sodbuster” and
“swampbuster” provisions of the
law, farmers who break highly
erodible sod or convert wetlands in
order to plant crops must im
plement a conservation plan ap
proved by the local conservation
district. These provisions took
effect Dec. 23,1985, when the Farm
Bill was signed into law.
A conservation compliance
provision included in the law will
disqualify from certain USDA
programs farmers who raise crops
on any highly erodible land without
an approved conservation plan.
Farmers have until Jan. 1,1990 to
begin applying a conservation plan
on highly erodible cropland, and
until Jan. 1, 1995 to fully apply a
conservation system to the land.
Each of these provisions is
described in detail later in this
release. “Unless a farmer knows
for sure that his land will not be
classified as highly erodible under
the conservation compliance
provisions, the farmer should
check with ASCS and the Soil
Conservation Service,” stresses
Dr. William McSweeny, extension
economist at The Pennsylvania
State University. “Failure to do so
could lead to serious financial
consequences.”
Violations disqualify farmers
from these farm programs:
• price and income supports
• disaster payments
• crop insurance
• Farmers Home Administration
loans
• Commodity Credit Corporation
storage payments
• Farm story facility loans
• Other programs under which
USDA makes commodity-related
payments, including annual
payments made under the Con
servation Reserve Program.
To be considered highly erodible,
more than one-third of a field must
Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, Navambar 8,1986-El
be composed of a highly erodible
soil map unit, or the highly
erodible area must be larger than
50 acres.
The SCS and ASCS can help
farmers determine if their fields
are highly erodible, and help
develop a conservation plan. They
will use an “erodibility index,”
which uses soil characteristics,
slope and climate to measure
potential for erosion. It indicates
the extent of conservation practics
necessary to adequately reduce
erosion. Land equal to or greater
than eight on the index is highly
erodible.
In certain situations, farmers
could believe they are following
good conservation practices and
unknowingly violate the sodbuster
provision. For example, a highly
erodible field planted to rotational
hay as late as 1982, so that the field
was in hay from 1982 to 1985, is
considered to be in permanent
cover. Breaking the sod and
planting an annual crop violates
the sodbuster provision, and
farmers could lose eligibility if
they do not follow a locally ap
proved conservation plan. This is
true even if the farmer intended to
use a conservation tillage such as
no-till. Any conservation practice
must be approved by the local
conservation district.
As of 1990, farmers will violate
the conservation compliance
provision of the act if they plow a
highly erodible field cropped prior
to Dec. 23,1985, and plant a cover
crop without having an approved
conservation plan.
“The potential financial con
sequences of this can be severe,”
McSweeny says. “Therefore, it is
important that all farmers find out
the erodibility index of their land.
They should have locally approved
conservation plans for these highly
erodible fields in place in order to
continue participating in farm
programs.
The Sodbuster
Provision
Farmers who break out a field of
highly erodible grassland or
woodland to plant crops without
protecting it from erosion im
mediately disqualify themselves
from USDA programs.
They must follow a conservation
plan approved by the local con
servation district. Highly erodible
fields not planted to an
agricultural commodity or
designated as set-aside land
between Dec. 31,1980, and Dec. 23,
1985, are affected. This provision
became effective Dec. 23,1985.
When applying for USDA farm
programs, farmers must certify
that they have not broken out
highly erodible land since Dec. 23,
1985, in order to produce crops,
unless they did so under a locally
approved conservation plan.
Conservation
Compliance
The conservation compliance
provision disqualifies farmers if
they produce crops on existing
highly erodible cropland without a
conservation system approved by
the local conservation district.
The land must have supported an
annual crop at least once between
1981 and 1985.
Farmers have until Jan. 1,1990,
to begin actively applying a con
servation plan on highly erodible
cropland. They have until Jan. 1,
1995, to have a conservation
system fully applied to the land.
However, if soil maps of a farm or
ranch are not available, they have
two years after mapping to
establish a soil plan.
When applying for USDA farm
programs, farmers must certify
that they are not producing crops
on highly erodible fields.
The Swampbuster
Provision
The swampbuster provision
applies to wet soils - called hydric
soils - that support mainly water
loving plants. Such soils are
usually saturated or associated
with a pond.
Like the sodbuster provision,
swampbuster went into effect Dec.
23, 1985. Producers converting
wetland after that date in order to
produce agricultural commodities
will no longer be eligible for cer
tain farm programs.
Farmers who convert wetlands
and lose eligibility can regain it by
stopping production of agricultural
commodities on the land.
(Turn to Page E 2)