Statement by Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman on the Conservation
Security Program

                                            Release No. 0006.00
Statement
                               by

             Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman 
              on the Conservation Security Program
                        January 7, 2000


     "In addition to meeting the food needs of the nation and much of world,
farmers and ranchers are also charged with the care of three quarters of
America's land.  At a national conservation summit that USDA hosted last
month, I released a report showing that America's conservation challenges are
mounting and intensifying more quickly than we are solving them.  That is why
I applaud Vice President Gore's leadership in announcing today an important
new initiative, the Conservation Security Program, that will help family
farmers and ranchers, promote conservation, preserve farmland, and protect
water quality.   

     "As we prepare for a new century, we need to deepen our commitment to
the conservation of America's private lands.  We have been paying farmers for
decades to grow commodities and, in some cases, not to grow commodities.  Now
we must start thinking of the land itself as our most valuable commodity.  

     "I want to work with Congress this year to significantly improve the
farm bill.  I believe the needed changes must include stronger conservation
provisions, such as the Vice President has proposed today.  We must act if we
are to protect America's small farms and private lands." 

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