Lost in the back-and-forth before the federal government shutdown, the one-year farm bill extension expired at midnight on Sept. 30.

Enrollment was immediately closed for key farm bill conservation programs, including the Conservation Reserve Program, Wetlands Reserve Program and Grassland Reserve Program. The most effective tools for conservation on private lands are no longer available, and this closure will very likely have a negative impact on waterfowl habitat if a five-year farm bill isn’t passed as soon as possible.

It is still possible to have a five-year farm bill passed and enacted into law before the end of the year. Before the shutdown occurred, the House of Representatives had passed a resolution to merge its previously passed “farm only” bill and nutrition bill into one. The Senate has renamed conferees to the conference committee that will be responsible for reconciling the difference between the Senate and House farm bills, but the House has yet to appoint its conferees.

The week before the federal government shutdown, the Farm Service Agency released data on land conversion to cropland by state. The five states that converted the most non-cropland into cropland were:

1. Nebraska: 54,876.60 acres
2. South Dakota: 27,128.40 acres
3. Texas: 26,395.2 acres
4. Florida: 24,961.43 acres
5. Iowa: 22,301.50 acres

Of the top five states, only two have land in the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR). This is significant because the Senate-passed farm bill established a national Sodsaver program that would decrease federal subsidy support on any new cropland acres that are put into production as a result of breaking grassland that had no previous cropping history. The House-passed farm bill establishes a regional Sodsaver program that would target only states in the PPR, and therefore wouldn’t protect any of the significant grasslands in other states – including some of those with the highest acres converted.