Presidential budget eliminates an important conservation program

Much of my day on the farm—every day—is spent in working with and thinking about cattle and crops. I admit that I don’t spend much time considering what goes on in D.C. or government policies especially when it comes to presidential budgets. But when the administration asks Congress to eliminate the Conservation Stewardship Program two years in a row, I felt the need to speak out.

Good stewardship has been central focus on the Albers’ farms for decades. When my father built structures at the edge of a field, he would remark that “this was my last chance to keep the soil before losing it.” I spent much time as a teenager and young adult helping my dad and brothers build concrete structures that slowed the flow of water and keep the soil in place on our land and in neighbors’ fields.

We’ve learned much in the years since those days of terraces and concrete. Now I keep the soil in place by eliminating tillage, planting cover crops and regenerating healthy soil. These practices make my land better absorb the rainfall and hold the soil in place with living roots.

I’m sure as farmers learn more, practices will continue to change and improve. But the one thing that assisted and accelerated that knowledge was the public’s willingness to support good stewardship whether through state conservation funds or voluntary federal programs like CSP.

I don’t like it when farmers are criticized by our urban neighbors for taking taxpayer money to protect us from low prices or disasters. There seems to be no shortage of stories about how agriculture gets it wrong.

However, all people care about having clean water and air, wildlife for recreation and healthy food. That is the kind of support farmers receive in CSP for voluntarily implementing practices that produce all of these goods as well as a more resilient agriculture for future generations.

The Conservation Stewardship Program is focused on my whole farm and not just pieces. I have modified how I graze animals, manage forages, grow crops and even how I test my soil—things that cost money but yield large benefits not only to me but to my community, state and country. I know that when I receive support, I can confidently tell the U.S. taxpayer that I am giving more in return than just bushels of wheat or pounds of beef.

My Kansas legislators have constantly assured farmers that presidential budgets are only suggestions and often “dead on arrival.” However, someone must have the ear of the administration when it comes to recommending cuts to programs that support the protection of God’s creation. Responsible farmers and ranchers know that good stewardship produces more than food. Investing in good stewardship through a program like CSP will produce the clean water and air as well as the healthy soil that everyone needs for the future.

—Gene Albers farms and ranches in Kingman County. He is former board member of the Kansas Association of Conservation Districts and currently is chair of the South-Central Kansas Residue Alliance. Albers also serves on the board of the Kingman County Conservation District.