(Iowa News Service) – A federal judge in Cedar Rapids hears arguments today (Monday) in a case that could make or break the future of wetland protection programs in the state. The Farm Bill contains a wetlands conservation compliance program known as Swampbuster. It limits the number of acres a farmer can plant and still receive U.S. Department of Agriculture funding, if they have wetlands on their property. Claimants in a lawsuit say that provision is unconstitutional.

Food and Water Watch Staff Attorney Dani Replogle said beyond protecting wetlands, farmers she’s representing say it doesn’t make sense to plant crops on every acre. “In order to have a sustaining farmland over generations, you need to have diverse ecosystems that include wetlands,” said Replogle, “for things like drought and flood mitigation, as well as habitat for a variety of animals.”

According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, the 30 million acres of wetlands in the Upper Midwest are responsible for preventing $23 billion a year in residential flood loss costs. CTM Holdings, which filed the suit, is challenging the constitutionality of the Swampbuster provision of the 1985 Food Security Act, because it says the USDA doesn’t compensate farmers for easements on their unplanted acres.

Replogle said the suit doesn’t consider the future of the program or the farmers who rely on it. “It’s a really short-sighted attack,” said Replogle, “on a program that has been in place for decades to protect these wetlands and to, you know, reward farmers who are practicing good stewardship of their land.”

Groundwater and native wetlands habitat are also under threat by corporate agriculture, which is known to pollute rivers, streams, and wetlands with manure runoff.  Large scale ag operators say they’re trying to find more environmentally friendly ways to do business while keeping up with consumer demand.