January 09, 2025

Farmers Fight to Protect Wetlands and Their Futures

ELPC is representing the Iowa Farmers Union in a case to preserve the longstanding Swampbuster provision of the Farm Bill, which protects clean water and farms.

By Giana Aguilar-Valencia, ELPC intern, Fall 2024

Farmers are on the front lines of many environmental issues here in the Midwest, since they work so closely with the land. As a Communications Intern for the Environmental Law & Policy Center this fall, I learned about a case in which ELPC is representing a group of Iowa farmers. They are fighting to protect their land and water by preserving the “Swampbuster” provision of the Farm Bill. I wanted to highlight their voices directly, to hear why this program is so crucial for sustainable farming and the environment.

What is Swampbuster and why are farmers involved?

Swampbuster and Sodbuster (collectively referred to as “conservation compliance”) are important pieces of the Farm Bill, implemented in 1985, that were designed to reduce environmental harms caused by increased federal subsidies for agricultural production. Since 1985, Swampbuster says that federal farm benefits (such as certain loans, grants, and crop insurance) are only available to farmers who don’t fill their wetlands to grow crops. Similarly, Sodbuster says that farm benefits are only available to farmers who do not grow crops on highly erodible soils. These conservation compliance programs preserve wetlands of enormous environmental and community value, enhance biodiversity, mitigate flooding, and reduce water pollution.

However, a lawsuit is challenging Swampbuster, where the lead plaintiff is a businessman from Chicago, who happens to own some land in Iowa. Special interest groups behind this case  hope to nullify the federal requirement of wetlands conservation, so landowners can farm in wetlands, while still qualifying for government aid. If the plaintiff wins, “Sodbuster” could be next on the chopping block. This short-sighted scheme is not only disappointing, but damaging to American farm policy, environmental health, and rural economies.

In October 2024, the Iowa Farmers Union (represented by ELPC), Iowa Environmental Council, Dakota Rural Action, and Food & Water Watch filed a motion to intervene in the case. The group was allowed into the case in December, and we expect the case to go to trial in mid-2025. If their livelihoods are up for debate, then it is important that farmers are at the table where their voices can be heard. Here are some quotes from farmers who stand to be impacted by this litigation.

What do farmers have to say about it?

Elle Gadient, Delaware County, Iowa
Young Farmer

“If the Plaintiff wins this lawsuit and fills his wetland, I am concerned that I, along
with my neighbors, will be directly negatively impacted. Plaintiff’s upstream lands will be less capable of holding water after the wetland destruction, and that excess water needs to go somewhere. Since our farm is downstream, we are likely to suffer the impacts of that excess water, including being unable to adequately drain our fields. I also fear for the protection of wetlands across Iowa, such as this one, that are tools for flood control, water quality improvement, and habitat for wildlife. Removing this protection would be a race to the bottom for watersheds and farmland across the beautiful state of Iowa. I believe Iowa farmland and watersheds need to be protected for the future, for Iowans, for the environment, and for those downstream from us.”

Aaron Lehman, Polk County, Iowa
Farmer & President of Iowa Farmers Union

“Many watersheds in Iowa are already impaired by pollutants coming from agriculture, including nitrates. Getting rid of Swampbuster and Sodbuster would make water quality worse.”

Frank James, Brookings County, South Dakota
Farming Advocate

“Dakota Rural Action (DRA) is supportive of USDA’s conservation programming, including Swampbuster and Sodbuster, because these programs benefit DRA members. DRA members value natural diversity on their farms and ranches, and in the surrounding areas because diverse landscapes that include wetlands and prairies offer resilience in the face of climate change.”

Nick Nemec, Hyde County, South Dakota
Farmer

“In a world without Swampbuster and Sodbuster, I worry that large farming operations can withstand price fluctuations will continue to expand to the detriment of small farmers and those hoping to start… As a grandfather, I worry about my grandchildren and other young people’s ability to earn family living.”

Sarah Green, Polk County, Iowa
Farming Advocate and Conservationist

“Wetlands can reduce nitrate in surface water and nitrate a widespread contaminant of drinking water in Iowa. Iowa Environmental Council published a report in 2016 addressing health effects of nitrate contamination in drinking water.”

Tatum Watkins, Sioux County, Iowa
Young Farmer

“I am worried by the possibility that NCRS might be forced to remove the financial incentives currently offered by Swampbuster, Sodbuster, or any other conservation program. I am concerned that if farmers in my area were to determine that preserving wetlands or highly erodible lands no longer made economic sense, the area would suffer from the impacts of increased erosion and decreased biodiversity.”

There’s a lot at stake

This is all part of a larger political battle. Some interests have been fighting to weaken conservation compliance for years, and Project 2025 explicitly calls for unhitching federal farm financing from basic conservation requirements.

The Swampbuster program supports responsible farmers and protects the environment for future generations. To remove protection offered by this program is a disservice to farmers. It is financially irresponsible and environmentally disastrous. ELPC will continue to fight for farmers, wetlands, and the future of sustainable agriculture.