By SUSAN MYKRANTZ
Ohio Correspondent

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The USDA touches every American, every day, said Ann Miller, USDA Undersecretary, Natural Resources and Environment. Miller was a presenter at the 2010 Ohio Land Use Conference sponsored by The Ohio State University extension.
The larger issue, according to Miller, is what happens in rural America is implicit to food, energy and national security.

“Ohioans are attached to the land,” she said. “This is a beautiful state, how we use and protect the land is a serious subject. How we manage that reflects on our heritage, and the need for vision and policy to take us to the sustainable future.”

Miller said there are two reports being prepared by USDA officials. The first is an appraisal of soil and water issues and their effect on policies and resolutions, and the costs and benefits of conservation measures. The results of this report will be released in 2011.

The second looks at policy recommendations in relation to policy debate and the 2012 farm bill. “There is a finite amount of land,” she said. “We need to be thoughtful on how we use it.”

According to the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Services website, programs such as EQIP (Environmental Quality Incentives Program) – which provides funding for conservation practices – has invested more than $2.5 billion for improvements on over 46 million acres as of September 2010.

Miller said the program assists farmers with stewardship on their land by providing funds for good conservation practices that not only improve yields and profitability, but also protect the environment and the nation’s water resources.

“The key role of EQIP is to deliver conservation and economical benefits, using strong science and a holistic approach to resource management,” she said.

Food security is becoming a critical concern, as the nation saw a 10 percent decrease in prime farmland and an 11 percent decrease in cropland between 1982 and 2007. Programs such as the Farm and Ranchland Protection Program provide matching funds to purchase perpetual conservation easements, with 57 percent of the funding going to states east of the Mississippi River.

“The loss of farmland and climate change impacts the food supply,” Miller said.

She also cited the benefits of environmental markets as a means of strengthening the rural economy by trading credits.

“The Office of Environmental Marketing is a way to trade credits,” she said. “A majority of the environmental credits are produced by farmers, so we have to work for farmers and work within the framework. But we have to be sure that farmers aren’t priced out of business due to environmental regulations.”

Another critical area is conducting a resource inventory and assessment, and measuring improvements in water and air quality through projects such as the National Cooperative Soil Survey and the National Resource Inventory. Miller said the USDA’s American Great Outdoor Initiative is holding listening sessions across the country, with a focus on public and private working lands.

Floodplain management is a major goal for the agency, including the restoration of floodplains, dams and easements. Miller said $340 million of federal stimulus money was designated for easements and rehabilitating dams, including $5 million for 15 Ohio floodplain easement projects.

“Protecting water resources is an important part of this program,” she said. “There are several major watersheds across the country; we are working with landowners to measure improvements in water quality and efficient water use. We need to take a holistic approach.”

The USDA is also working with other countries to strengthen their agriculture. USDA volunteers have gone to Afghanistan to assist the country in stabilizing their agricultural base. Miller said this plays a critical role in improving the security of the country.

“We are working with the farmers in Afghanistan to find low-cost ways to improve their productivity,” she said. “It is important to develop solutions to the needs in the 21st century, both here and overseas.”

For example, OSU extension in Cuyahoga County has received two grants totaling more than $840,000 to assist new farmers start on small tracts of land in Cleveland, with a special focus on training for women, minorities, refugees, immigrants and limited-resource adults with developmental disabilities.

Funds from the grants will be used to address issues such as urban blight, “food deserts” and unemployment.

The goal of the projects known as Beginning Entrepreneurs in Agricultural Networks (BEAN) and the Urban Agriculture Innovation District (UAID) is to turn vacant tracts into productive gardens and farms. The USDA provided $740,096 for BEAN, while the Ohio Department of Agriculture funded $100,000 for UAID.

Miller said many residents in the Cleveland area do not have access to fresh produce, and the grants will be used to bring agriculture to the community and provide fresh fruits and vegetables for the residents of the city.

The BEAN and UAID projects build on collaborative efforts already under way, including the Re-Imagining Cleveland Grant Program, Cleveland’s Gardening for Greenbacks, an extensive Community Gardening program and the work of the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Food Policy Coalition.

BEAN will work with about 35 beginning farmers annually, providing training on intensive, sustainable agriculture, direct marketing and small business development.

UAID will support the clustering of 20 market garden sites in an emerging “Urban Agriculture Innovation Zone” as an effort to realize economies of scale for hard costs of these projects. These include water infrastructure, fencing, tool sheds and “hoop house” greenhouses and the potential for cooperative marketing of produce.

Collaborating partners include the city of Cleveland, the Cuyahoga County Board of Development Disabilities, the International Services Center and the Cleveland Catholic Diocese/Immigration and Refugee Services.

“Two-thirds of the land in the United States is privately owned,” Miller concluded. “If we are going to address conservation issues, we need to keep a strong private ownership of land.”