IRA money means more help for farmers and conservation — not less 

Agriculture is a cornerstone of the American economy. Farming and ranching, deeply woven into our country’s collective tapestry, have significantly shaped our culture and values. The economic and social value of the agriculture sector is what makes the farm bill — omnibus legislation directing public resources to farmers and ranchers, food production systems, forestry, nutrition assistance, and more — so important. The farm bill, renewed approximately every five years, funds critical programs. The last farm bill expired on Sept. 30, 2023 — passing a new one must be a priority for lawmakers.

Agriculture is a vast industry with far-reaching impacts. The public health and environmental price of conventional extraction-based agriculture is steep. Agriculture is a significant source of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and air and water pollution. Livestock accounts for one-third of methane emissions. Agriculture is responsible for 75 percent of nitrous oxide emissions, largely from manure and chemical fertilizers applied to cropland, 75 percent of which is used to grow livestock feed. The land application of massive amounts of manure from Concentrated Animal Feed Operations (CAFOs) can result in the leaching and runoff of nitrogen and phosphorus, disease-causing germs, and other harmful substances. These substances can contaminate surface waters and groundwater, causing harmful algal blooms and making it unsafe to drink well water and recreate in lakes and rivers.

The next farm bill presents an opportunity to transform how we grow and raise food. It’s important to fund solutions to the climate and ecological harms of conventional, extractive agriculture, but we also need to uplift the parts of our food and farm system that best protect the environment and public health. That includes regenerative farming and ranching practices that sequester carbon, improve water quality and soil health, and promote biodiversity.

There’s flexibility in the new farm bill. The Inflation Reduction Act, passed by Congress to combat climate change and reduce costs by spurring clean energy job growth, includes nearly $20 billion allocated for four U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) conservation programs: the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), the Regional Conservation Partnership Program, and the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program. This pool of IRA money opens up existing pots of farm bill money for more traditional conservation practices, allowing farmers and ranchers to choose what pathways and methods best suit their particular needs. 

The IRA investment also will allow increased participation in oversubscribed and underfunded working lands conservation programs. As evidenced by the popularity of CSP and EQIP, farmers and ranchers recognize the value of implementing climate-mitigating agricultural practices, many of which have public health and environmental co-benefits (i.e., improved water quality and soil health).

It is imperative that Congress not only preserve the one-time IRA investment in these high-demand conservation programs but increase baseline funding for them, as proposed by Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee. Ensuring sufficient long-term funding for conservation will provide producers with the right tools and financial incentives to work with the land and its natural systems, instead of against them. 

Public investments should yield public returns. Of the four USDA programs receiving IRA money, CSP delivers the greatest returns —nearly $4 in value for every $1 invested. The program provides continued support for farmers and ranchers already striving to be good environmental stewards by funding ongoing and additional conservation efforts. The 2014 farm bill cut funding for CSP and other conservation programs, and the 2018 farm bill shifted funds away from CSP and toward EQIP. While EQIP provides financial assistance to producers wanting to adopt conservation practices, the most recent farm bill mandates that 50 percent of EQIP funding flows to livestock operations, including CAFOs and manure biodigesters. The 2023 farm bill is an opportunity to boost CSP funding and remove the lopsided support for industrial agriculture. 

Alongside prioritizing climate change, lawmakers must ensure support for smaller, beginning, urban, and BIPOC farmers and ranchers and local and regional food systems. For too long, the farm bill has propped up well-resourced agribusinesses, disconnected from communities, that often operate in ways that harm people and the planet, with wasteful subsidies. The big get bigger, driving further consolidation, making it difficult for smaller independent producers to compete, and limiting choices for consumers.

The industrial model of food production lacks the systemic resiliency needed to ensure food security in the face of climate change. A majority of Americans know climate change is already harming people living in the U.S., and things will get worse, and are opposed to moving the IRA money out of conservation programs. Preserving the IRA investments in conservation is essential for this nation’s farmers and ranchers to lead the way in tackling climate change and protecting the productive land that we rely upon.

liana Paul is a senior policy advisor working on regenerative agriculture, trade and industrial policy at the Sierra Club. Cheryl Ruble, MD, is a physician living in Michigan and a volunteer leader with the Sierra Grassroots Network Food and Agriculture Team.