Many in agriculture hope conservation programs will be largely unaffected by the incoming second Trump administration given their popularity with farmers and with the fate of remaining Inflation Reduction Act conservation funding up to Congress.
President-elect Donald Trump railed against many of the Biden administration’s climate initiatives, calling them the “green new scam.” Along the campaign trail, he specifically said he would rescind climate-related funding included in the IRA.
The law brought in an additional $19.5 billion for four USDA conservation programs — the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, the Conservation Stewardship Program, the Regional Conservation Partnership Program and the Agricultural Conservation Easements Program — through 2031.
The agency already doled out $391.2 million from the IRA in the 2023 fiscal year. It was given $3.06 billion in net budget authority for the 2024 fiscal year, $5.65 billion in FY2025 and $7.49 billion in FY2026, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Ferd Hoefner, a policy consultant and former policy director for the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, said barring a change of heart, Republicans will likely incorporate the remaining IRA conservation funds into the farm bill without some or all of the guardrails.
He said it’s important to incorporate this funding, and that with or without the guardrails farmers are not likely to suddenly drop certain conservation practices.
The new secretary of agriculture will determine any changes to climate spending in the Trump administration, Hoefner said. However, he said there’s broad support for things that fall under the climate-smart umbrella like soil health and nutrient management.
“I think the farm community, there are those who are comfortable talking about climate-smart agriculture. There are those who don't like the term,” Hoefner said.
Fred Hoefner, policy consultantAaron Shier, government relations director at the National Farmers Union, said it’s difficult to predict exactly how a second Trump USDA would handle conservation programs inasmuch as the new secretary has not been named and any could have a different perspective. Overall though, NFU believes voluntary conservation programs are popular among farmers and positive for communities both in addressing conservation and climate goals.
“We’d be disappointed to see those funds taken away,” Shier said.
While some Republicans in Congress have urged a more tactical approach to scaling back IRA provisions like clean energy tax credits, there has been less certainty for agricultural conservation, said one agriculture lobbyist, in part because the farm bill has not been finalized.
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Both the House farm bill that advanced out of committee in May and the proposal from Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., supported moving $13 billion in IRA funding into the conservation title of the farm bill. Democrats have pushed to keep restrictions on the funding to ensure it goes to climate-smart practices while some Republicans want to leave the funding open for other conservation programs.
Now that Republicans have control of the White House, Senate and may retain a majority in the House, it’s possible Republicans could change strategy on conservation funding in the farm bill.
Even if this money is not obligated in the farm bill, it’s unlikely that producers will face any mass disruptions in accessing NRCS aid, according to an ag lobbyist.
A greater concern is the fate of $300 million included in the IRA for measuring, monitoring, reporting and verification (MMRV) of changes in greenhouse gas emissions, the lobbyist said. USDA still has hurdles in updating data and infrastructure to understand the impact of climate-smart practices, which will be critical as data flows in from Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities projects, the lobbyist continued.
The hope of initiatives like PCSC is to demonstrate how investments can lead to verifiable emissions reductions in the industry, the lobbyist said.
Now, climate-smart programs are on a voluntary basis. But if agencies are unable to show effective emissions reductions due to a lack of investment in MMRV, Democrats could move toward a regulatory approach if they regain control in subsequent years, the lobbyist warned.
Scott Faber, who leads the Environmental Working Group’s government affairs efforts on food and farm issues, is optimistic that conservation funds are unlikely to be on the chopping block given their widespread popularity and demand.
Scott Faber “To what extent that funding is used in ways that really helps make our farms more resilient, and ultimately saves farmers and taxpayers money in the long run, is remains to be seen,” Faber said. “I think everyone, regardless of whether they agree on the cause, recognizes that the weather is changing and that extreme weather is impacting our farmers in ways that it didn’t decades ago.”
The new administration could make more sweeping changes, however, by halting administrative actions taken under Biden, Hoefner said. Over the last nearly four years, USDA has reinvented or created programs using funds from the IRA, American Rescue Plan and Commodity Credit Corporation. These include actions on supply chains, fertilizer production, meat processing and organic transition.
“They've done huge, a huge, unprecedented numbers of administrative initiatives,” Hoefner said. “Those could all radically change. It wouldn't be surprising to see many of those come to a screeching halt under a Trump presidency, but time will tell.”
Noah Wicks contributed to this story
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