1.1A resolution1.2memorializing the United States Congress to reauthorize the Conservation Reserve 1.3Program as part of the 2007 Farm Bill.1.4WHEREAS, the Conservation Reserve Program is a voluntary federal program that 1.5protects millions of acres of American topsoil from erosion, thereby safeguarding our nation's 1.6soil and water resources while at the same time benefiting our nation's farmers and farming 1.7communities; and1.8WHEREAS, some 33,000 Minnesota farms participate in the Conservation Reserve 1.9Program, committing to take 1,800,000 of our state's most environmentally sensitive acres out 1.10of agricultural production for a period of ten to 15 years; and1.11WHEREAS, Minnesota farmers have instituted conservation and erosion control measures 1.12on these acres, including planting trees and native grasses, installing filter strips and riparian 1.13buffers, and restoring wetlands important to wildlife including native and migrating waterfowl; 1.14and1.15WHEREAS, through the Conservation Reserve Program, Minnesota farmers remove 1.16environmentally sensitive acres from agricultural production and plant them with cover crops, 1.17thereby contributing to a reduction in price-depressing crop surpluses and lowering the federal 1.18government's price support expenditures for covered crops like corn, soybeans, and wheat; and1.19WHEREAS, as a successful and equitable conservation program, the Conservation Reserve 1.20Program enjoys broad support in Minnesota from farming, hunting, wildlife, and environmental 1.21communities; NOW, THEREFORE,  2.1BE IT RESOLVED by the Legislature of the State of Minnesota that it urges the Congress of 2.2the United States to reauthorize the Conservation Reserve Program as part of the 2007 Farm Bill.2.3BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State of the State of Minnesota is 2.4directed to prepare copies of this memorial and transmit them to the Speaker and the Clerk of 2.5the United States House of Representatives, the President and Secretary of the United States 2.6Senate, the chairs of congressional committees with jurisdiction over agriculture, and Minnesota's 2.7Senators and Representatives in Congress.