A New Mexico lawmaker says the extra Inflation Reduction Act funding allocated to conservation programs will help the Department of Agriculture have the staffing levels and money necessary to address producer demand for assistance.
Earlier this week, the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy released a report that found fewer than one-third of applicants were able to secure contracts through the Environmental Quality Incentives and Conservation Stewardship programs in fiscal 2023, despite a $500 million increase in funding authorized by the IRA.
“I think that there's a clear demand for these conservation programs in the farm bill — whether it's EQIP, CSP or RCPP programs that are oversubscribed. [They] are in high demand,” said Vasquez, D-N.M., on this week’s Agri-Pulse Newsmakers.
"We have a challenge to to meet, and that includes making sure that USDA has the staffing, opportunities and levels to be able to meet the demand."
Former USDA NRCS chief during the Obama administration Dave White, now with the 9b Group, says on this week's show that the IRA funding will help support the backlog of demand for conservation programs, not necessarily new demand.
“For years we've had a tremendous backlog in people trying to get into conservation programs and just not having enough money. But now the Inflation Reduction Act has kind of flipped the script on that. But we've got to remember, we're only in year two of the Inflation Reduction Act,” said White.
White says a backlog is not necessarily a bad thing to have, and that it is sparking more interest from producers wanting to join conservation programs.
“I think this whole influx of IRA money is really going to see a lot more producers being able to participate. And I think it's wonderful that you have that much interest in conservation,” says White.
James McKitrick with the American Forest Foundation is on this week's show to discuss how the IRA funding has been helping out the forest industry.
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