The Biden administration allotted $5.7 billion for climate mitigation work through USDA’s conservation programs in the coming 12 months, double the amount offered in the just-ended fiscal year. There is record interest in USDA’s stewardship programs “and we’re confident that we can continue to get the support out to conservation-minded producers,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Wednesday.
Counting $2 billion in routine funding for the four programs, the USDA would spend up to $7.5 billion on conservation projects during fiscal 2025. It would be the largest amount offered by USDA in a single year for land and water conservation.
The climate funding, drawn from $19.5 billion earmarked for USDA stewardship programs in the 2022 climate, health care and tax law, included $2.8 billion for the cost-sharing Environmental Quality Improvement Program; $1.4 billion for the Regional Conservation Partnership Program, which coordinates land and water stewardship improvements across landscapes; $943 million for the Conservation Stewardship Program, the first USDA working-lands program; and $472 million for the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program, which protects land from development.
Climate mitigation is one of the major points of disagreement for the new farm bill. The Republican-written farm bill approved by the House Agriculture Committee would allow climate funds to be spent on projects that do not sequester carbon or reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Senate Agriculture chairwoman Debbie Stabenow opposes removal of the “guardrails” on spending.
With the allocations for 2025, the USDA has committed roughly $11.4 billion, or 58 percent, of the climate mitigation funding. Some $2.8 billion was offered in fiscal 2023 and nearly $2.9 billion in fiscal 2024, according to a USDA fact sheet in August.
Fourteen new practices have been added to the seven-page list of climate-smart activities eligible for the climate funds, said the USDA. They include mulching with natural materials, grazing management to improve wildlife food and cover, and brush management on arid lands.
Also on Wednesday, the Agriculture Department announced $852 million in loans and loan guarantees for projects that would improve electric infrastructure and smart-grid technology in 14 states and $443 million in loans and loan guarantees for drinking water, sewage disposal, and stormwater drainage in 24 states.