GAITHERSBURG, MD — Members of the Izaak Walton League of American (IWLA) are concerned about portions of the proposed new farm bill. 

IWLA defines itself as a “a defender of this country’s soil, air, woods, water, and wildlife.” 

“We care especially about Title II, which is the conservation title,” said Kate Hansen, IWLA’s Agriculture Program Director. “In that title you find programs that are incentivizing farmers, land owners, ranchers, to do beneficial practices. Our priority is to keep that title strong and ensure that those programs are well funded.”

Those Title II programs are entirely voluntary and are proven to improve water quality, reduce soil erosion, improve wildlife habitat and more, Hansen said. Participants receive technical and financial assistance to implement conservation practices. 

Title II includes the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), designed to assist farmers in improving environmental quality, particularly water quality and soil conservation and the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) which provides annual payments for operating and maintaining existing conservation efforts. The  Conservation Reserve Program, (CRP) encourages farmers and landowners to convert highly erodible and other environmentally sensitive acreage to vegetative cover.

Those programs, especially CSP and EQIP, are underfunded and oversubscribed, according to data from the USDA. Between 2010 and 2020, just 31 percent of farmers who applied to the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and only 42 percent of farmers who applied to the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) were awarded contracts.

The ratio of farmers who are going through an often extensive application process is a lot higher than those who are actually admitted into the program, Hansen said. It is not that the farmers are ineligible, there is simply not enough money in the pot. 

“We would like to see a strong investment in those programs because we know there is demand across the country,” Hansen said. “About two-thirds of the people that wanted to apply, did the work of applying but were not funded. Farmers are raising their hand to do practices that would not only improve their land but will also improve drinking water of communities downstream of them, and improve wildlife habitat.” 

In 2023, the latest year for which numbers are available, while Ohio did well with 71 percent of farmers approved for CSP funding, Indiana had only 45 percent, and Kentucky only 44 percent approved. Minnesota was even worse with just 12 percent of CSP applicants approved. 

For EQIP funding the numbers are even worse. Ohio had only 30 percent of applicants approved. Indiana had 36 percent and Kentucky only 25 percent. In Mississippi, that number was just 8 percent. 

The League is also pressing for innovation like their proposed State and Tribal Soil Health Grant program, which they hope can be included in the farm bill. This grant program would make funding available for states and tribes to invest in soil health projects specific to their area.  

“This would be a new program,” Hansen said. “In the last Congress, it was included in the active drafts of the Farm Bill and we hope it continues to be active this year. This would be a program that helps states and tribes invest in soil health projects.”

The resources would come from the federal government but states and tribes would also have some skin in the game, Hansen said. They would decide on local projects for soil health. Agriculture is different across the country and soil health strategies are going to look different, depending on the location.

“This would be a grant program,” Hansen said. “Eligible functions would include technical and financial assistance, on-farm research, education, outreach, and monitoring. We are trying to get a Farm Bill through because we know we need one and from our perspective, the State and Tribal Soil Health program would be an excellent policy piece in the new farm bill.”