The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced up to $7.7 billion in assistance for fiscal year 2025 to help agricultural and forestry producers adopt conservation practices on working lands. This includes up to $5.7 billion for climate-smart practices, made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act, which is part of President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda and $2 billion in 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.
Through changing temperatures, precipitation patterns, drought, flooding, and increasingly more severe extreme events, such as hurricanes and wildfires, climate change is affecting the livelihood of USDA’s stakeholders. Innovations in adapting to such changes will be central to the future success of working lands. USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) received more than 156,485 applications for its conservation programs in fiscal year 2024. While NRCS accepts applications year-round, interested agricultural producers can now apply for fiscal year 2025 funding through NRCS at their local USDA Service Center.
“Thanks to the Biden-Harris Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act, America’s producers have additional funding available to them for conservation programs and climate-smart practices. We continue to see record demand for these programs, and we’re confident that we can continue to get the support out to conservation-minded producers,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “This funding will be used to maximize climate benefits across the country while also providing other important conservation and operational benefits, which will lead to economic opportunity for producers, and more productive soil, cleaner water and air, healthier wildlife habitat, greater connectivity, and natural resource conservation for future generations.”
The Inflation Reduction Act, the largest climate and conservation investment in history, invests an additional $19.5 billion in NRCS’ oversubscribed conservation programs over five years, which began in fiscal year 2023. This year through the Inflation Reduction Act, producers can apply for $2.8 billion through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), $943 million through the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), $472 million through the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP), and up to $1.4 billion in the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). This is in addition to the $2 billion available for these programs through the Farm Bill, including $860 million for EQIP, $600 million for CSP, $450 million for ACEP, and $250 million for RCPP.
This assistance through the Inflation Reduction Act also helps advance the President’s Justice40 Initiative, which set a goal that 40% of the overall benefits of certain climate, clean energy and other federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution. These investments also advance President Biden’s America the Beautiful Initiative, a locally led, voluntary conservation and restoration effort that aims to address the nature and climate crises, support working lands conservation, improve equitable access to the outdoors, and strengthen the economy.
Since implementation began in 2023, this climate smart conservation assistance has helped over 28,500 farmers and ranchers apply conservation to 361 million acres of land during the past two years. These funds provide direct climate mitigation benefits, advance a host of other environmental co-benefits, and expand access to financial and technical assistance for producers to advance conservation on their farm, ranch or forest land through practices like cover cropping, conservation tillage, wetland restoration, prescribed grazing, nutrient management, tree planting and more.
Climate-Smart Agriculture and Forestry Activities
NRCS recently released an updated list of Climate-Smart Agriculture and Forestry Mitigation Activitieseligible for Inflation Reduction Act funding in fiscal year 2025, which includes 14 new activities. NRCS also released the NRCS Conservation Practices and Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Information dashboardsharing the expected mitigation benefits and science-based estimation approach for listed practices.
These in-demand activities are expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or increase carbon sequestration, as well as provide other significant benefits to natural resources like soil health, water quality, pollinator and wildlife habitat and air quality. In response to feedback received from conservation partners, producers and NRCS staff across the country, NRCS considered and evaluated activities based on scientific literature demonstrating expected climate change mitigation benefits.
These activities will also help producers mitigate the risks of climate change, including drought and flooding from extreme weather events such as the recent hurricane. Agriculture faces significant exposure to the physical risks of climate change. The USDA estimates that due to increased drought fueled by climate change, the Agency could see up to double the number of ranchers seeking assistance under the Livestock Forage Disaster Program by the end of the century compared to today. This corresponds to an increase of more than $800 million per year in Federal expenditures by the end of the century.
Conservation Easements
NRCS is accepting applications for ACEP for fiscal year 2025, which includes $472 million in Inflation Reduction Act funds for this year. ACEP helps producers conserve and protect grasslands, wetlands and farmlands. Producers interested in Inflation Reduction Act funding through ACEP should submit their applications by the next two ranking dates, Oct. 4, 2024, or Dec. 20, 2024. Any ACEP application submitted to NRCS that was unfunded in fiscal year 2024 will be automatically re-considered during the Oct. 4 funding cycle.
In addition, NRCS is also accepting ACEP applications eligible for Farm Bill funding. Application dates for fiscal year 2025 funding differ by state, and they’re available on the NRCS Ranking Dates webpage.
How to Apply
NRCS accepts producer applications for EQIP and CSP year-round, but producers interested in fiscal year 2025 funding should apply by their state’s ranking dates through NRCS at their local USDA Service Center. Funding is provided through a competitive process and is an opportunity to address the unmet demand from producers who have previously sought funding for climate-smart conservation activities.
Additionally, USDA will hold a briefing on Oct. 4 at 11:30 a.m. EDT for interested agriculture and conservation partners. USDA Farm Production and Conservation Under Secretary Robert Bonnie, NRCS Chief Cosby and several producers who have implemented NRCS programs with the help of the Inflation Reduction Act will talk about voluntary conservation on working lands.
Source : usda.gov