[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 32 (Monday, August 9, 2004)]
[Pages 1442-1445]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks on the Conservation Reserve Program in Le Sueur, Minnesota

August 4, 2004

    The President. Thank you all. Please be seated. Thanks for the warm 
welcome. It's good to be on a farm. [Laughter] American farm and ranch 
families embody the best values of our country, don't they--love of 
family, love of the land, love of their country. These are good, hard-
working people. Farming is what I like to call America's first industry, 
and that industry feeds us, and it clothes us. It's now providing more 
energy for us.
    The success of America's farmers and ranchers is essential to the 
success of our country. That's why it's fitting we're here on a farm to 
talk about the success of America. I'm going to talk about another role 
that farmers play today, and that's the essential role of being good 
stewards of our land, and how the Federal Government can help. See, I 
like to tell people every day is Earth Day if you make a living off the 
land, because people care more about the land if the person has to make 
a living off the land.
    And so today I'm going to talk about some initiatives where the 
Federal Government can help the best stewards of the land be better 
stewards of the land. I want to thank you all for coming. I appreciate 
the Governor. Thank you for being here, sir. Thank you for your 
introduction. I particularly want to thank Mark and Shirley Katzenmeyer; 
they're the host family here. Little did they realize--where is Mark?
    Mr. Katzenmeyer. Right over here, sir.
    The President. Oh, there you are. Good, you got a good seat. That's 
good. [Laughter] And Karen as well, their sweet daughter. Thanks for 
coming, Karen.
    Guess what we talked about? Mountain biking. [Laughter] Mark is a 
mountain biker, and gosh, what a special place to mountain bike, isn't 
it? I'm sorry I didn't bring mine. [Laughter]
    Mr. Katzenmeyer. You can borrow one.
    The President. I could borrow one, yes. Well, I'm not that sorry. 
Anyway--[Laughter]. But I really appreciate your hospitality. Senator 
Norm Coleman is with us, and the Governor. We were on the same 
helicopter. He said, ``I wonder if the Katzenmeyers really understood 
what was about to happen''--[laughter]--four choppers heading into their 
farm. But thanks for having us. I also want to thank your neighbors for 
putting up with us, and I appreciate you all coming. I want to thank 
Norm. He's a good friend, a fine United States Senator.
    I appreciate Gil Gutknecht. And the Congressman for this area, John 
Kline, is with us too. Thank you both for being here. I'm honored you 
guys are here. I also want to thank--I want to thank Vicky, who is 
John's wife. I appreciate you coming, Vicky.
    I thank the mayor of Le Sueur for being here. Mr. Mayor, appreciate 
you coming.
    Mayor Bob Oberle. You're welcome.
    The President. Yes, thank you. It's an honor for us to be here. I 
want to thank the other local officials who've come. I want to thank the 
conservation groups. I see some of my friends from the conservation 
groups,

[[Page 1443]]

the people who want to make sure that the land is taken care of so 
wildlife can flourish. We're going to talk about something today that I 
think you'll appreciate. As a matter of fact, you've been instrumental 
in helping to construct the policy. I want to thank--and the farmers and 
ranchers who are here. It's really good to be here.
    Bryan--there's Bryan. Yes, today when I landed--by the way, I always 
like to greet somebody in the community who is serving the community by 
volunteering. And Bryan Comstock is a volunteer firefighter for this 
part of the world. I want to thank you for being here. I told him I was 
a supporter of the Crawford Volunteer Fire Department. I know something 
about it. It's--these volunteer fire departments are really important 
for rural America, and I want to thank Bryan and others who are 
volunteering time to help these farmers and ranchers who might get in 
trouble because of a sudden or instant fire.
    At any rate, we--this country better appreciate our farmers and 
ranchers. I mean, it's--really the cornerstone of good economic policy 
is good farm policy, isn't it? And I'm--I appreciate the effects of the 
farm bill that we worked on and passed. It's a good bill. And it's 
making a difference. It has helped farmers because it helped them plan 
and operate on market realities, not based upon Government dictates. 
It's important any bill that deals with economics to understand the 
markets, and that we view the markets as important. And a market-
oriented approach to farming is good, and it's working. It's making a 
difference for people right now.
    One reason it is, is because we recognize there's a lot of consumers 
for American farm products outside the United States. Good farm policy 
is good trade policy. Listen, if you're good at something--and we're 
really good at growing things; we ought to be selling what we grow, not 
only here at home but elsewhere. I'm committed to making sure that 
markets are open and we're treated fairly. I like to explain trade to 
our people this way, that we've opened up our markets here in the United 
States, and it's good for consumers. We do. Think about it. When you get 
more products coming into the country, you can shop. You can make 
decisions. The more opportunities you have to decide, you're going to 
get better quality at a better price. That's just the way it is. That's 
the way the market works. We want to be treated in other countries the 
way we treat people here at home. That's good trade policy. And so we're 
opening up markets. The more markets we open up, the better it is for 
farmers and ranchers because we can compete with anybody, anytime, 
anywhere just so long as the playing field is level.
    And as a result--we also, by the way, cut taxes on our farmers and 
ranchers as well as everybody else who paid taxes. That helps. I like to 
tell people I think the people in southern Minnesota can spend their 
money better than the Federal Government can. Now, we'll set priorities; 
don't get me wrong. [Laughter] We got a war to win. We've got a homeland 
to protect. We got people to take care of that can't take of themselves. 
But by setting priorities, I believe that you can meet obligations and 
let people have more of their own money. It helps this economy grow; I'm 
telling you. When you got more money in your pocket, you demand an 
additional good or a service. And when you make that demand, somebody is 
going to produce it. And when somebody produces it, somebody is likely 
to find a job.
    We also put the death tax on its way to extinction. In order to have 
a vibrant agricultural economy, it must be so that people can pass their 
farm from one generation to the next without the Federal Government 
getting in the way. We're going to have to make the death tax--the 
elimination of the death tax permanent. In order to get it out of the 
Congress, it's--it was a decision to say, ``Okay, we're going to put it 
on its way to extinction,'' and then it comes back after 10 years. 
That's the way we had to get it out, which means in the year 2011, 
there's going to be some unusual decisions by people when the death tax 
comes into being. I'm pledged to eliminate it totally. I don't think it 
makes any sense. I don't think you ought to--[Applause].
    Anyway, we've taken action. And the productivity of our farmers 
are--it really means we can compete anywhere. And therefore, America's 
farmers have posted record net-cash farm income. I'm not talking about 
good--I'm talking about record. Our exports

[[Page 1444]]

are way up. Farm equity and land values are strong. In other words, we 
got a good farm economy, and I intend to keep it that way as best as I 
possibly can.
    I'm going to talk about conserving the land. The best thing from the 
farm bill was the conservation title. It encouraged people to put aside 
lands for the right reasons: to protect the soil, protect the water, 
provide habitat for wildlife. The conservation title was doubled from 
the previous farm bill to this one. It's up to about $40 billion over a 
10-year period of time. The Katzenmeyers understand it. Here's what 
Shirley said. She said, ``You're giving back to nature when it comes to 
putting money--land aside for the CRP. You're giving back to nature. 
You're giving back something to the soil so it doesn't get depleted. All 
around, it's a good practice.'' I agree, and so do farmers all across 
America.
    So the main reason I've asked you all to come, besides being in a 
beautiful part of the world, was to talk about three initiatives I think 
you'll find interesting; three initiatives important for our country; 
three initiatives which enable our farmers and sportsmen to continue 
their roles as citizen-stewards of the land. This initiative I think is 
good for the environment. It's good for the agricultural sector.
    First, we're going to expand and extend the Conservation Reserve 
Program. The Conservation Reserve Program is the largest public-private 
conservation partnership in the Nation. Approximately 800,000 farmers 
participate in this program. In return for an annual payment from this 
program, farmers retire some of their land, letting it turn back to its 
natural state. As I told you, it's good for the soil. It's good for 
habitat. Interestingly enough, one of the things I like to ask is, does 
it work? The question we need to ask more often in Washington, DC, is it 
actually working? In this case, this program has helped reduce soil 
erosion by more than 40 percent since 1986. That is a positive 
development for America.
    Right now we have 35 million acres of farmland in the CRP, the 
Conservation Reserve Program. Contracts covering roughly two-thirds of 
the existing land in the program are scheduled to expire in 2007 and 
2008. To make sure these farmlands stay protected, I directed the 
Secretary of Agriculture to offer early reenrollments and extensions of 
existing contracts.
    The farmers no longer need to worry about whether or not this--
they'll be reenrolled in the program, as of this moment. You will be. 
We're taking action now rather than waiting so that there's certainty 
when it comes to planning. I'm also directing the Secretary to enroll 
farmers for an additional 800,000 acres of land.
    Secondly, we're going to expand the conservation program to cover 
vital grasslands that often serve as borders of farmlands. I'm ordering 
the Secretary of Agriculture to help protect 250,000 acres of 
grasslands, which are the home of several species of birds, including 
the northern bobwhite quail. By expanding this program, our goal is to 
increase the quail population by about 750,000 birds a year.
    Thirdly, we're going to expand the conservation program to cover 
wetlands that are not in--the CRP now covers wetlands that are in a 
flood plain. But if you're out of a flood plain--if your wetlands are 
out of a flood plain, you're not currently eligible for the program. 
These wetlands are what the farmers around here call ``prairie 
potholes,'' and offer a home for pheasants and ducks and other birds. 
These prairie potholes will now be a part of the CRP, and that's good 
for wildlife. I'm also making available resources needed to help farmers 
protect 250,000 acres of such wetlands. This is part of an initiative 
that I outlined last Earth Day which was to restore, improve, and 
protect at least 3 million wetland acres over the next 5 years.
    Audience member. Thank you, Mr. President.
    The President. And that's what I'm here to announce. I'm here to 
announce we can do a good job of conserving nature by empowering our 
farmers and ranchers. I want to thank the wildlife people that are here. 
I want to thank you for your practical way of approaching important 
issues for our country. I particularly want to thank the farmers and 
ranchers who are here for doing what you were raised to do, which is 
feed us and help clothe us and, in the meantime,

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protect your land, which is good for the country.
    I'm honored to be here. Mr. Mayor, thanks for coming. It's great to 
be in a part of the world where people work with their hands and make a 
living off the land.
    God bless you all, and may God continue to bless our great country. 
Thank you very much.

Note: The President spoke at 2:55 p.m. at the Katzenmeyer family farm. 
In his remarks, he referred to Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota.