All 24 Democrats on the House Agriculture Committee signed a letter telling panel leaders on Monday “it would ultimately be a disservice to American farmers” to hijack the $20 billion earmarked in the farm bill for climate-mitigation projects. Some lawmakers, with Republicans the most vocal, would use the money to fatten the crop subsidy system.
House Agriculture chairman Glenn Thompson circulated a list recently that suggested diverting the climate funds as one of the ways to pay for other initiatives in the farm bill. Barring a breakthrough, Congress increasingly is unlikely to enact a new farm bill this year. Neither the House nor the Senate Agriculture Committee has presented a first-round draft of the legislation.
“Historic investment in conservation will benefit all farmers, and the authorized climate-smart practices will improve water quality, soil health, and habitat preservation on farms across the country,” said the Democrats in a letter to Thompson and Rep. David Scott, the Democratic leader on the committee. “We are hopeful that we can keep the Inflation Reduction Act funds dedicated to a robust set of practices and programs that serve farmers across the nation.”
A similar argument has been raised by land stewardship proponents — USDA’s conservation programs are open to all producers while commodity supports are limited to dairy and row-crop farmers. There are no direct payments to fruit, vegetable, nut, and livestock producers.
There is a waiting list for USDA cost-sharing funds for soil and water conservation work. “Three out of four CSP [Conservation Stewardship Program] applicants are turned away due to inadequate funding; moving the IRA funds from conservation would be denying farmers the support they need and want,” said the Democrats’ letter.
Thompson’s list included a cap on Conservation Reserve spending, limits on USDA use of a $30 billion reserve, and a ban on USDA updates of the Thrifty Food Plan, used in determining SNAP benefits.
In the 2018 farm bill, Congress set an annual spending limit for CSP as part of an effort to scale down the first USDA green payment program. The “incredible shrinking of CSP…may also serve as a warning” for conservation funding in the 2023 farm bill, wrote Jonathan Coppess, associate professor at the University of Illinois earlier this month.
In the 2022 climate, health care, and tax law, Congress awarded nearly $20 billion to USDA conservation programs for use through 2031 with a priority on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing climate resiliency. The allocation included $8.45 billion for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, $3.25 billion for CSP, $6.75 billion for the Regional Conservation Partnership Program, $1.4 billion for the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program, and $1 billion for technical assistance.
A copy of the letter sent to House Agriculture Committee leaders is available here. Democratic Reps. Chellie Pingree of Maine, Jim Costa of California, and Nikki Budzinski of Illinois organized the letter.