Implementation Update: How Has the IRA Advanced Conservation on Farms?

Agricultural producers in the United States today are facing the impacts of climate change, including extreme weather events, droughts, and flooding. But climate-smart agricultural practices, which have significant overlap with conservation practices implemented on farms, can help farmers protect their crops while limiting their own greenhouse gas emissions.

Climate-smart agriculture is not only about mitigating climate change. It can also protect farmers’ livelihoods in an industry where success hinges on the increasingly unpredictable weather. A study by AGree—a coalition of researchers, producers, and nonprofits—shows that when the Midwest faced extreme flooding in 2019, land that had benefited from cover cropping and no-till agriculture was able to absorb more moisture, making planting possible. By contrast, many farmers were unable to plant on land where these techniques had not been used. This study shows how climate-smart practices can provide financial benefits to farmers while helping to protect against the impacts of climate change, making them a smart investment for individual farmers and the federal government.

Through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) (P.L. 117-169), Congress has dedicated $11.7 billion over four years to support sustainable agriculture through the long-standing Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). These conservation programs are also funded through the Farm Bill, which is up for reauthorization.

A recent report by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP), Opening the Door for More Conservation: The Inflation Reduction Act’s Impact on Access to Farm Bill Conservation Programs, describes how producers are interfacing with EQIP and CSP. The report is the latest in a series tracking the progress of these programs and their effectiveness for farmers. This series has highlighted that while the programs are highly valuable for those able to access funding, they have been consistently oversubscribed and unable to support the majority of applicants. Another challenge noted by IATP is that EQIP must provide half of its Farm Bill funding to projects related to livestock. Because of this requirement, certain states are less able to access funding due to a lack of livestock farming operations.

According to the Opening the Door for More Conservation report, IRA funding has helped address some of these issues. For example, IRA funds are detached from the livestock requirement, meaning they can be distributed more evenly across states and will be more likely to support climate-friendly practices, especially on smaller farms that might otherwise receive less federal support. Thanks to the IRA, EQIP was able to award contracts to 2,366 more applicants in fiscal year (FY) 2023 than in FY 2022, and CSP awarded contracts to 3,078 more applicants in the same time period. However, as the report points out, about three quarters of EQIP applicants and more than two thirds of CSP applicants are still unable to obtain funding, indicating that additional support is needed for the programs to meet demand.

Map 1: Percentage of EQIP Applicants Awarded Contracts, FY 2023

Map 2: Percentage of CSP Applicants Awarded Contracts, FY 2023

The maps above, from IATP’s "Opening the Door for More Conservation" report, show the percentage of producers that applied for EQIP and CSP funding, respectively, that received contracts in fiscal year 2023. For more detailed information, see the report, which also includes a table of the number of applications and contracts by state. Credit: IATP.

Other challenges continue to hinder these Farm Bill conservation programs. According to the author of the IATP report series, Michael Happ, one of the biggest challenges is a lack of staff. Insufficient staffing levels at the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), which operates both EQIP and CSP, make outreach and relationship building with historically underserved groups extremely difficult. This targeted outreach is key to making climate-smart agriculture more accessible and equitable. But according to Happ, low salaries, combined with the rising cost of living, have forced many local conservationists to leave their NRCS positions after brief stints, which can disrupt trust building with the communities they serve.

As Happ explained to EESI, this issue is more complex than a lack of funds. “We’ve talked to NRCS about this problem and they say, ‘Well, our hands are tied. The salary bands are set by … OPM [the Office of Personnel Management].’” While the influx of funding from the IRA was a step in the right direction, policy changes in coordination with other federal offices could unlock more consistent, on-the-ground support for rural communities.

The IRA funding for EQIP and CSP is set to expire in 2031, but Happ hopes that the increase and climate focus will be maintained through the 2024 Farm Bill as a funding baseline. The oversubscription problem reported by almost every state—from Mississippi and Arkansas to Oklahoma and Pennsylvania—indicates high demand that could justify further increases in available funding.

EQIP and CSP contracts can make a huge difference for farmers. The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) has collected stories from farmers that highlight the impacts of climate change on their land, and how conservation practices—like those funded by EQIP and CSP—have helped them adapt. The stories spotlight farmers across the country who have faced droughts, floods, severe storms, and all the subsequent damage to their crops and land. For example, NSAC shared Martin Larsen’s experience of farming in Byron, Minnesota: “Martin has seen much heavier rainfall than in the past. As he transitions toward a farm that is more resilient, he has adopted a no-till system and a much more well-rounded rotation that includes small grains. The grains help reduce his risk during drier periods, and maintain his soil during wet periods.” Many of the producers featured in the series have received funding from EQIP or CSP to adopt sustainable practices.

As highlighted by IATP’s data and NSAC’s stories, EQIP and CSP make a difference for individual producers and can benefit the agricultural sector overall by giving farmers additional tools to protect their land and their bottom line from the effects of climate change, now and in the future.

For Congressional briefings, legislative side-by-sides, a hearing tracker, articles, and podcasts about the Farm Bill and related programs, visit EESI’s Farm Bill resources page.

Author: Emily Phillips