Officials have been unable to add up the amount of money that goes into such programs, and prospects for more spending by the Bush administration are unclear. Iowa farmers are among the leaders in conservation work. Silt is the top water pollutant in Iowa, and farm fertilizers are high on the list. Environmental groups such as Pheasants Forever and state agencies encourage farmers to plant grass along streams and use field methods that save soil. With half the land in the country in crops or pasture, it is a huge issue, Johnson said.
Various programs pay farmers to turn cropland into wildlife habitat, forest and wetlands.
The farmer gets paid to fight pollution and often avoids trying to raise grain on flooded or eroded land. A new report by the nonprofit Environmental Defense, a national environmental group, found that half of the U.S. farmers and ranchers who ask for technical help from the government are turned away. And about 75 percent of the farmers who ask for money to restore wetlands or use other conservation techniques are told the money is gone, the study said. We're nervous about getting the work done.