<div class="xtend"><a id="pl.1.1"></a><var>1.1</var>A resolution<br />
         		<a id="pl.1.2"></a><var>1.2</var>memorializing the United States Congress to reauthorize the Conservation Reserve <br />
         		<a id="pl.1.3"></a><var>1.3</var>Program as part of the 2007 Farm Bill.<br />
         		<a id="pl.1.4"></a><var>1.4</var>WHEREAS, the Conservation Reserve Program is a voluntary federal program that <br />
         		<a id="pl.1.5"></a><var>1.5</var>protects millions of acres of American topsoil from erosion, thereby safeguarding our nation's <br />
         		<a id="pl.1.6"></a><var>1.6</var>soil and water resources while at the same time benefiting our nation's farmers and farming <br />
         		<a id="pl.1.7"></a><var>1.7</var>communities; and<br />
         		<a id="pl.1.8"></a><var>1.8</var>WHEREAS, some 33,000 Minnesota farms participate in the Conservation Reserve <br />
         		<a id="pl.1.9"></a><var>1.9</var>Program, committing to take 1,800,000 of our state's most environmentally sensitive acres out <br />
         		<a id="pl.1.10"></a><var>1.10</var>of agricultural production for a period of ten to 15 years; and<br />
         		<a id="pl.1.11"></a><var>1.11</var>WHEREAS, Minnesota farmers have instituted conservation and erosion control measures <br />
         		<a id="pl.1.12"></a><var>1.12</var>on these acres, including planting trees and native grasses, installing filter strips and riparian <br />
         		<a id="pl.1.13"></a><var>1.13</var>buffers, and restoring wetlands important to wildlife including native and migrating waterfowl; <br />
         		<a id="pl.1.14"></a><var>1.14</var>and<br />
         		<a id="pl.1.15"></a><var>1.15</var>WHEREAS, through the Conservation Reserve Program, Minnesota farmers remove <br />
         		<a id="pl.1.16"></a><var>1.16</var>environmentally sensitive acres from agricultural production and plant them with cover crops, <br />
         		<a id="pl.1.17"></a><var>1.17</var>thereby contributing to a reduction in price-depressing crop surpluses and lowering the federal <br />
         		<a id="pl.1.18"></a><var>1.18</var>government's price support expenditures for covered crops like corn, soybeans, and wheat; and<br />
         		<a id="pl.1.19"></a><var>1.19</var>WHEREAS, as a successful and equitable conservation program, the Conservation Reserve <br />
         		<a id="pl.1.20"></a><var>1.20</var>Program enjoys broad support in Minnesota from farming, hunting, wildlife, and environmental <br />
         		<a id="pl.1.21"></a><var>1.21</var>communities; NOW, THEREFORE,  <br />
         		<a id="pl.2.1"></a><var>2.1</var>BE IT RESOLVED by the Legislature of the State of Minnesota that it urges the Congress of <br />
         		<a id="pl.2.2"></a><var>2.2</var>the United States to reauthorize the Conservation Reserve Program as part of the 2007 Farm Bill.<br />
         		<a id="pl.2.3"></a><var>2.3</var>BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State of the State of Minnesota is <br />
         		<a id="pl.2.4"></a><var>2.4</var>directed to prepare copies of this memorial and transmit them to the Speaker and the Clerk of <br />
         		<a id="pl.2.5"></a><var>2.5</var>the United States House of Representatives, the President and Secretary of the United States <br />
         		<a id="pl.2.6"></a><var>2.6</var>Senate, the chairs of congressional committees with jurisdiction over agriculture, and Minnesota's <br />
         		<a id="pl.2.7"></a><var>2.7</var>Senators and Representatives in Congress.<br />
         		
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