Senate Democrats released an overview of the $28 million that would be allocated to conservation efforts in their proposed $3.5 trillion spending bill. Plans for this funding include:

• $9 billion for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) to specifically expand funding for the implementation of on-farm conservation practices.
• $7.5 billion for the Regional Conservation Partnerships Program (RCPP), which supports locally led conservation.
• $4 billion for the Conservation Security Program (CSP), which focuses on whole-farm conservation systems.
• $1.5 billion for the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program.
• $5 billion for a new Farm Service Agency (FSA) cover crop initiative.
• $200 million to go toward Conservation Technical Assistance.
• $600 million for measuring the benefits of conservation practices on greenhouse gas emissions.

If all measures are approved, this investment would roughly double the funding dedicated to conservation practices in the current farm bill.

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This article appeared in the November 2021 issue of Journal of Nutrient Management on page 5.
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