More than 140 million acres of farmland in the U.S. are currently receiving conservation-related financial and technical assistance from the federal government, according to an analysis from the Farm Bureau.
In preparation for farm bill 2023, the House Ag Committee met on Tuesday to “hear how our conservation programs are currently working for producers, how investments in conservation programs are addressing our resource needs, and how these programs can be utilized to help address the climate crisis,” according to Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.), subcommittee chair.
Of all the testimony heard on Tuesday, five farm bill conservation needs echoed throughout the room more than once:
1. Simplified application processes
2. Technical assistance
3. Effective planning and implementation
4. Review of conservation cost share rates
5. Expand opportunities for early adopters
Michael Crowder, National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) president, opened the testimony floor to outline that “voluntary, locally led, incentive-based conservation works,” but needs more effort.
“To be successful, producers need a comprehensive suite of conservation systems and practices,” he says. “[There’s] a desire for Congress to examine conservation practice payment rates. With rising costs of labor and inputs, we need to ensure that producers are compensated fairly.”
National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) President Nicole Berg echoed Crowder, saying conservation programs are vastly oversubscribed and underfunded.
After a review of wheat growers NRCS programs between 2018 and 2021, Berg says her team found that wheat growers entered over 7,500 contracts, but, over the same period, there were 5,000 applications that were not funded by NRCS.
Conservation Limited by USDA
Shayne Wiese, Iowa cattleman, says he’s experienced this cost-share funding application and denial firsthand, and he wasn’t impressed.
“Recently, I applied to receive EQIP cost-share funding but after months of waiting, I gave up and completed a water infrastructure project without assistance from USDA,” says Wiese.
Wiese says his ranch has many opportunities to improve the land and environment, but USDA’s additional hurdles limit upgrades while, simultaneously, stopping USDA from recording producer’s environmental improvements.
“Noticing that a significant number of producers on the ground want to participate and can’t is a good call to action for us in the future,” Spanberger says.
Will there be Meaningful Changes in Conservation?
While these testimonies plead for change and inclusivity, House Ag’s Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-Pa.), fears the farm bill conservation title will not meet producer needs unless it’s penned in red ink.
“I hope in the next Congress we can truly evaluate the funding needs for these programs paired with an evaluation of the ability to effectively and judiciously deliver these funds to farmers,” Thompson says. “I don’t feel bound by the amount of funding or the specific program allocation passed in the partisan IRA bill,” Thompson says.
Committee members agree they would like to support staffing for NRCS in addition to a simpler application process for producers.
More on the 2023 farm bill:
Conservation, Loan Rates and Insurance: 3 Farm Bill Topics Gain Traction
Writing Farm Bill in Time of High Prices Pits Farm Group Wishes Against Budget Realities
