Monday March 31, 2025
The New Lede —
In a court hearing that could have implications for the fate of federal protections for US wetlands, lawyers for an Iowa farmland owner will face off on Monday against the federal government and environmental advocates over the constitutionality of the Farm Bill’s hotly debated “Swampbuster” law.
The hearing in the case pits CTM Holdings LLC against the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and several organizations that intervened in the case in support of USDA, and addresses a provision of the US Farm Bill dealing with wetlands management.
First introduced by Congress in 1985 after more than half of all US wetlands had been drained or filled, the provision prohibits farmers from using designated wetlands on their property if they want to be eligible for crop insurance subsidies, farm loans and other federal benefits.
The measures aims to prevent farmers from draining, filling in or otherwise altering wetlands, which provide critical habitats for fish and waterfowl, help mitigate flooding and sequester carbon. The provision currently protects about three-quarters of remaining wetlands in the contiguous US – at least 78 million acres.