Turning required setbacks into shared environmental and economic opportunity.

The Problem

Across the country, lakes, rivers, and streams are being damaged by nutrient runoff—especially phosphorus—coming from fields near waterways.

Farmers aren’t the enemy; the system is. Regulations require farmers to plant buffer zones, but those zones often become unsellable acreage that farmers are forbidden to harvest.

The result?

• Farmers lose productive land they still have to maintain.

• Environmental rules feel punitive rather than collaborative.

• States spend millions trying to clean waterways after the damage is done.

• Conservation becomes a financial burden instead of a shared responsibility.

Most farmers want to protect the land—they just can’t afford to sacrifice acres with no path to recoup the loss.

What the Act Does

✅ Creates Federally Supported Dual-Use Conservation Zones

Buffer zones stay in place, but farmers are allowed to plant approved perennial crops that improve soil, prevent erosion, and absorb phosphorus—while still being harvestable.

Environmental protection no longer requires economic sacrifice.

Approved crops include:

• switchgrass

• willow / shrub biomass

• industrial hemp

• other deep-root perennials vetted for ecological benefit

✅ Light-Impact Harvesting Only

The Act sets a federal weight limit for machinery used in these protected zones, ensuring harvesting does not damage soils, root systems, or waterways.

✅ A New Market for Stewardship

Farmers keep a percentage of profits from these conservation crops.

States or private partners can contract the harvesting, creating new green-industry jobs.

✅ Science-Based Waterway Protection

Crops must be perennial, non-till, and root-dense, maximizing filtration and reducing nutrient runoff far more effectively than unmanaged grass strips.

✅ Federal Grants for Implementation

The Act provides targeted federal support for:

• transition planting

• crop establishment

• soil testing and monitoring

• local conservation partnerships

This turns a genuine environmental need into an economically feasible solution.

Why It Matters

For years, conservation has been framed as a choice between environmental health and agricultural livelihood.

This Act rejects that false choice.

Healthy waterways protect fisheries, tourism, property values, and public drinking water.

Healthy farms protect rural economies, food security, and land stewardship.

Dual-use conservation bridges the divide:

• Farmers become paid partners in environmental restoration.

• States reduce long-term cleanup costs.

• Waterways recover through smarter, science-driven land use.

Everyone wins when stewardship is rewarded—not punished.

The Bottom Line

The Dual-Use Conservation Act transforms conservation from a mandate into an opportunity.

It protects waterways, strengthens agriculture, and aligns economic incentives with environmental responsibility.

This isn’t regulation for regulation’s sake.

It’s common-sense conservation that treats farmers as allies and gives states the tools they need to restore their natural resources—permanently and sustainably.