Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and the U.S. Department of Agriculture are providing an additional round of funding for agricultural producers and forest landowners for USDA’s oversubscribed conservation programs for the fiscal year 2023.
The funding for this year, a total of $850 million, will be provided through the Inflation Reduction Act’s $19.5 billion over five years investment for climate smart agriculture. Conservation programs such as Environmental Quality Incentives Program, Conservation Stewardship Program, Agricultural Conservation Easement Program and Regional Conservation Partnership Program are currently oversubscribed which led to the opening of the latest round.
“The Inflation Reduction Act provided a once-in-a-generation investment in conservation on working lands, and we want to work with agricultural and forest landowners to invest in climate-smart practices that create value and economic opportunity for producers,” says Vilsack, who spoke Feb. 22 at the National Association of Conservation Districts annual meeting. “We know that agriculture plays a critical role in the nation’s effort to address climate change, we’re using this funding to bolster our existing programs, maximize climate benefits and foster other environmental benefits across the landscape.”
Read more about the Inflation Reduction Act.
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