96th Congress - Report No.17 - July 13, 1979 - Agriculture Hearings on S.795, the Farmland Protection Act

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Theodora

Testimony and committee proceedings address farm ownership and S.795, the Farmland Protection Act, amid rapidly changing land values and land-use trends. The Senate Small Business Committee seeks better data on non-farm owners, while the Census Bureau describes an agriculture census schedule and upcoming survey questions. The USDA outlines an interagency National Agricultural Lands Study evaluating land conversion and retention, and discusses limits on federal involvement. Support for S.795 centers on protecting farmland from development, with differing provisions versus the House bill.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages5

Reading Time13 min

AccessFree to download

AGRICULTURE

ALASKA LANDS

BUTIOMS TOMWE

ENERGY

96th Congress Report No.17 July 13,1979 lst Session ## AGRICULTURE Tandem Senate hearings were held July 10 to hear testimony on two interrelatedissues:farm ownership and S.795,the Farmland Protection Act. The Senate Small Business Committee held a hearing to determine why no adequate dataexists on farm ownership:With the recent rapid changes in land value,ownership andland-use trends are changing. Sen.Gaylord Nelson(Wisc.),who chaired the hearing,stated,"We do not know what the characteristics of these non-farm owners are." Shirley Kallek,Associate Director for Economic Fields,Bureau of the Census,saidthat the Bureau conducts a census of agriculture approximately every five years in orderto provide accurate data on the rapidly changing farm sector. In 1980,questionsregarding landlord characteristics wi11 be included in the landlord phase of the farmfinance survey,in response to growing interest in pertinent data on land controlled byfarm or non-farm landlords. This particular survey,however,is not thought to be asuitable vehicle for collecting information at the county level.Most witnesses agreedthat money should be appropriated for county-wide surveys. Dr.M.Rupert Cutler,Assistant Secretary for Research,Extension,and Conservation,U.S.Department of Agriculture(USDA)testified that the Administration,in response tothe demonstration of concern in past testimony before Congress,has initiated aninteragency National Agricultural Lands Study to determine and evaluate the impact ofagricultural land conversion on agriculture as well as to determine the impact ofagricultural land retention on other facets of our economy.The 18-month study effort,co-chaired by the Secretary of Agriculture and the chairman of the Council onEnvironmental Quality,is being directed by Robert Gray,formerly a staff aid to Rep.James M.Jeffords (Vt.).Cutler went on to say that the USDA is not,at this time,prepared to state the role that the Federal government should play,nor to what depthshould be its commitment,in assisting local units of government in their conversion orretention of farmland decisions. S.795 received wide support at the Senate Subcommittee on Environment,Soi1Conservation,and Forestry of the Committee on Agriculture,Nutrition,and Forestry.Nearly identical with the bil1 on the House side(H.R.2551,see Conservation Report,No. 13),S.795,cited as the "Farmland Protection Act,"aims at the protection of farmlandsfrom development. The major difference between bills occurs under Title IV where theamount of financial assistance to State and local goverments by the Secretary ofAgriculture is more limited under S.795 than in H.R.2551. Appearing in support of the bill,as on the House side,were several national farmand conservation organizations.The National Cattlemen's Association continued to opposethe proposed legislation. The Administration,not represented at the House hearing in May,urged the committeeto defer legislation until the results of the National Agricultural Lands Study arepublished. ## ALASKA LANDS In a Business Meeting of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources onJuly 10,Senators voted 9 to 5 against a motion to hold Senate field hearings in theState of Alaska pertaining to the Alaska lands legislation. The request for fieldhearings was made by Sen.Mike Gravel of Alaska,who was granted permission by ChairmanHenry Jackson to sit in on and participate in the Committee's deliberations on the Alaskalands legislation this year.Led by Senator Jackson,those opposing Gravel's proposa1decided that a field hearing process would be difficult to coordinate among members ofthe Committee,and that initiation of such a process would delay Committee action on theissue. Jackson hopes to mark-up the 1ands bill before the Senate adjourns for Augustrecess. 1BUTIOMS TOMWE The House Science and Technology Subcommittee on Natural Resources and Environmentmet July 10 to review the preliminary five year plan developed

FAQs

What issue did the Agriculture hearings focus on regarding S.795?

The hearings focused on farm ownership and the Farmland Protection Act (S.795), including how to protect farmland from development while understanding who controls land.

Why did the Senate Small Business Committee emphasize data on farm ownership?

Because no adequate data existed on farm ownership and related landlord characteristics, especially as land values and land-use trends change rapidly.

What study did the USDA say it initiated in response to prior congressional testimony?

The USDA initiated an interagency National Agricultural Lands Study to determine and evaluate impacts of agricultural land conversion and land retention on agriculture and other facets of the economy.

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Theodora