Ag Policy Blog

Farmers who have been waiting for oversubscribed conservation programs should revisit their local Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) office to make sure their application remains front and center.

USDA this week announced the department would spend a record $7.7 billion in fiscal 2025 "to help agricultural and forestry producers adopt conservation practices on working lands."

The $7.7 billion includes $5.7 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and another $2 billion will come from traditional farm bill funding.

"This is more than double the amount available last year and the most conservation assistance made available in a single year in U.S. history for popular USDA conservation programs," USDA stated.

NRCS last year received more than 156,485 applications for conservation programs. Farmers and other landowners can now apply for FY 2025 funds at their local USDA Service Center.

The $5.7 billion in IRA funds includes $2.8 billion for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP); $943 million for the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP); up to $1.4 billion for the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP); and $472 million for the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP).

The IRA funds come with a caveat that landowners will need to show that practices reduce greenhouse gas emissions or sequester carbon in the soil.

In a webinar Friday, Robert Bonnie, USDA undersecretary for Farm Production and Conservation, said a lot of farming practices producers have been doing a long time to improve their soil or nutrient management, and grazing practices also meet the climate-smart goals USDA is working to support.

"We just haven't always called them climate smart. So, there are a lot of opportunities for participation across the country," Bonnie said.

Not every practice will meet the climate-smart mitigation goals, but there is still the regular funding pot out of the farm bill to help those producers.

Along with those IRA funds, another $2 billion from the farm bill breaks down as such: $860 million for EQIP; $600 million for CSP; $450 for ACEP; and $250 million for RCPP.

NRCS Chief Terry Cosby said the agency has beefed up staff over the past year to implement the programs, as well as expanded with private companies and groups to help producers sign up for NRCS programs. The agency also has streamlined applications for some programs such as ACEP and the RCPP.

"If you've never worked with our NRCS, now is a good time to get involved," Cosby said. "We see many first-time NRCS customers get assistance with conservation in recent years."

The IRA funding also reduces the pot of money left over from the bill that lawmakers have planned to roll into the next farm bill. The House of Representatives farm bill incorporated the dollars into conservation programs but stripped the climate requirements.

The IRA carved out $19.5 billion specifically for USDA conservation programs with a focus on reducing emissions or sequestering carbon. With $3.8 billion spent in FY 2024, USDA will have spent $9.5 billion by the end of FY 2025.

USDA maintains a list of climate mitigation activities that would qualify for IRA dollars. The list was updated with 14 new practices for this year. See, https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/…

A farmer on Friday's webinar with USDA officials encouraged NRCS staff to get out more to conferences and events with smaller farmers. She noted a lot of urban farmers are not aware of USDA conservation programs.

Bonnie touched on Hurricane Helene response and recovery as well.

"USDA is going to be involved not only in a response but in recovery for the weeks, months, and years ahead," Bonnie said.

The U.S. Forest Service is helping with tree removal to clear roads," Bonnie said.

The Farm Service Agency and NRCS are working on response also, Bonnie said. He added, "We're working to speed crop insurance payments as well."

Ideally, producers in areas ravaged by natural disasters will also see a share of those conservation funds to help with recovery and rebuilding their operations. USDA's suite of disaster aid programs includes EQIP as well as the Emergency Watershed Protection Program. There is also the Emergency Conservation Program and Emergency Forest Restoration Program for forestry losses.

For more information in USDA disaster programs, see https://www.farmers.gov/…

Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com

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