Alex Sadzewicz is a student at the University of Maryland Francis K. Carey School of Law. Nathan McMullen is a student at the University of Maryland College Park. They are both guest contributors to this blog.
The Environment Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) are the working lands programs from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). The working lands programs cover conservation practices on farmland currently in production. EQIP provides cost-share reimbursement funding for eligible implementation costs of popular conservation practices such as cover crops and prescribed grazing. CSP offers farmers a more holistic approach to increasing and enhancing existing conservation practices on farms. NRCS works with farmers enrolled in CSP to assess farms and create a plan to address multiple natural resource concerns in a cost-effective manner. As addressed more fully in the Climate & Conservation Report, increased funding and programmatic changes to the working lands programs in the 2023 farm bill can bolster the potential of the programs to improve climate change mitigation and equity.
Increase Funding and Improvements for the Working Lands Programs
Increasing the funding and aligning priorities for the working lands programs will increase the implementation of conservation practices and increase the potential for those practices to sequester carbon, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and mitigate for climate change. To maximize EQIP’s climate benefits, the 2023 farm bill should authorize USDA/NRCS to prioritize applications for funding based on the carbon sequestration benefits they provide. Program participants should be chosen based on a score calculated to determine how well their application will mitigate climate change. The more practices a producer implements, or the more impactful practices they choose, should increase their likelihood of receiving a contract to participate. By streamlining the program and increasing transparency about selection criteria, producers can focus on choosing the practices that will improve their score, and therefore their likelihood of receiving a contract.
To best leverage CSP’s potential in promoting climate resilience, the 2023 farm bill should direct additional funds to the program and increase its economic appeal. Specifically, in the next farm bill:
- Significantly increase mandatory funding for CSP starting at $2 billion annually;
- Raise the monetary cap on producer contracts to increase the economic appeal of CSP participation; and
- Increase, or direct USDA to increase, the CSP payment rate for conservation practices to more closely align with rates offered under EQIP (i.e. 85% of EQIP payment rate).
Increase Funding for Technical Services and NRCS Staffing
Farmers report that USDA/NRCS staff are critical to the successful implementation of conservation practices, however, USDA/NRCS offices are routinely understaffed. If funding is increased for the working lands programs, there should be a commensurate increase in funding for USDA/NRCS technical service providers. Enrolling more farmers in programs will mean additional work and advising farmers on how conservation programs impact climate change mitigation will be an additional undertaking requiring both agricultural and scientific expertise. In order to ensure that the working lands programs are impactful, funding should be allocated to support additional technical assistance and outreach for farmers.
Increase Equitable Access to Working Lands Programs for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers
Various systemic inequities keep farmers of color from fully benefiting from federal conservation programs. In 2019, socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers only entered into approximately 10% of EQIP contracts and just 6.5% of CSP contracts. The 2018 farm bill addressed these issues by providing socially disadvantaged farmers with a higher cost-share rate and giving these farmers 50% of EQIP funding in advance of project implementation rather than afterwards as a reimbursement but more can be done.
As outlined in the Climate & Conservation Report, the 2023 farm bill can increase equity in the working lands programs by capping the available EQIP funding above a certain income threshold to make the program more accessible to smaller producers, incentivizing premiums for certain practices more effectively implemented by smaller farms, and providing outreach to support conservation practices on rented farmland.
The working lands programs are vital for increasing conservation practices on land in agricultural production because they provide comprehensive financial and technical assistance to farmers and the next farm bill has the potential to ensure these programs are administered equitably. To read more about how the 2023 farm bill can strengthen the working lands program, check out the Climate & Conservation Report.
