Conservation compliance, including the Swampbuster provisions at issue in the lawsuit discussed in this article, were the policy response to substantial problems on the ground and for farm fields. Those problems can be traced to the Dust Bowl of the 1930s and a return of wind erosion problems during droughts of the 1950s. More directly, conservation compliance traces to the reckless policy decisions in the early 1970s, including the Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act of 1973.
