Bribing Farmers to Keep Waterways Clean

New tax credits proposed for farmers who implement sustainable practices, as well as stronger water quality monitoring and increased spending, are at the center of Iowa House Democrats’ plan to improve the state’s water quality.

Their five-point plan includes: 1) Spending $600,000 on a statewide water monitoring program. 2) Tripling state funding for Iowa’s Nutrient Reduction Strategy from $10 million to $30 million per year to fund buffer strips, bioreactors and cover crops that reduce nitrate runoff. 3) Creating a clean water income tax credit for farmers who implement sustainable practices. 4) Establishing an Iowa Clean Water Certification Program that would provide a $5 per acre property tax credit for farmers, and 5) Creating an Iowa Water Quality Loan Program that offers no-interest loans to finance equipment that improves water quality.

Rep. Kenan Judge, D-Waukee, said “agriculture plays a vital role in our economy” and that House Democrats “want to be a partner with agriculture,” especially as Iowa’s farm economy struggles with low corn prices and the impact of tariffs. That’s why the plan avoids placing mandates on farmers and focuses on voluntary compliance with best practices.

“Farmers want clean water,” Judge said. “They want the same things we do for all Iowans, but I think we need to put the money there to incentivize them and get there to help them afford it in these economic times.”

I’m sorry, but that’s a load of bull feces. If farmers wanted clean water for all Iowans, as well as themselves, you wouldn’t have to bribe them with $30 million worth incentives. They would gladly do so on their own. It’s called morals and responsibility. It shouldn’t require more subsidies to farmers to set aside buffer strips and plant cover crops to reduce nitrate runoff. Just education.

Rep. Austin Baeth, D-Des Moines, who is also a doctor, said there’s growing concern among physicians in Iowa that water pollution is contributing in some part to Iowa’s high cancer rates, which are the fastest-rising in the country. “We should not have to worry about whether one of our most precious natural resources, something that is essential, a basic necessity of life, is actually shortening our lives. I will tell you that I am tired of diagnosing my patients with cancer,” she stated.

One can certainly argue that chemical fertilizers feed the world. Sadly, they also kill the microbial activity in soil. These organisms are crucial in fixing nitrogen and fighting plant diseases. Altering soil’s microbial community affects the entire ecosystem and can accelerate soil degradation and result in erosion, compaction and degradation. Soil that washes or blows away can contaminate nearby waterways and their ecosystems.

Consistent readers know that I hate both subsidies and mandates. Both are evil. However, when it comes to protecting US soils and waterways, and farmers putting profits over environmental integrity, I see some level of mandate as the lesser of two evils. Taxpayers shouldn’t have to foot the bill for clean water. It’s the responsibility of those who foul it in the first place.

Source used: Stephen Gruber-Miller, Des Moines Register and Eileen Ward, USA Today