The Center co-sponsored a two-day research workshop on June 28-29, 2001, at the Phoenix Park Hotel in Washington, D.C., focusing on the Farm Bill and the environment. Sponsors included: the University of California's Giannini Foundation, Iowa State University's Center for Agriculture and Rural Development, Kansas State University, and the Henry A. Wallace Center for Agricultural and Environmental Policy. The purpose of the workshop was to help frame the debate on policy options that base agricultural program funding on conservation and environmental objectives. Rather than answering the question of what the public wants, it sought to answer questions of how to effectively provide it. The audience included policy makers, policy advisors, representatives of commodity and conservation groups, and Congressional staff. Speakers included leading academic scientists and economists, policy makers, and their practitioners. Attendance was limited to engender frank and engaged discussion among speakers and guests.

The first day of the meeting focused on conceptual scientific and economic issues and was intended primarily for the technical expert and resource person. The second day addressed primarily questions of policy design and implementation. The workshop agenda is included here.

Background on the Farm Bill

Low prices of agricultural commodities from 1998 to the present have led to massive increases in federal financial support to agriculture that were not anticipated in the 1996 Farm Bill. Indications are that the federal government will continue to provide some form of financial safety net for the agricultural sector. The challenge to reauthorizing the farm programs that expire in 2002 is to develop and implement policies that provide maximum benefit to the nation. This is increasingly critical as the role of agriculture in the provision of environmental quality—both positive and negative--becomes evident.