MAINE PUBLIC • August 10, 2022
The Inflation Reduction Act includes $20 billion to boost voluntary land conservation in farm country. It is coming at a time when some Republican politicians are attacking the Biden administration for the goal to conserve 30% of the country's land and water by the year 2030. Conservation programs have been a cornerstone of agriculture since the 1930s Dust Bowl. And it's worked. But now, in some ag circles, conservation is under attack for political purposes. Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts said, “There are radical environmentalists that are pushing 30%, 50% of the Earth not to be used by humans.” Ricketts has spearheaded a movement that frames the Biden initiative as a federal land grab. Farmer Dean Fedde says, “There is no land grab. The government is not going to take your farm. They're to help protect that ground. They want to see working farms continue to be working farms. It's just opposite of what's being told.”