(Washington, D.C.) – 17 farmers and ranchers from across the country traveled to Washington D.C. last week to urge members of Congress to include critical funding for climate-smart conservation programs in the upcoming farm bill.
Organized by the National Wildlife Federation, the fly-in of farmers representing 13 states met with over 60 House and Senate offices from February 6-8 to discuss the challenges that they are currently facing and how farm bill conservation programs empower family farms and ranches to navigate a changing climate and pass down their businesses to the next generation.
"I chose to pursue farming because, like so many others, I am passionate about good food and community health. But producers are on the frontlines of the fight against climate change. If we want to ensure that farmers, ranchers, and foresters can thrive for the foreseeable future, it starts with adequately funding these farm bill conservation programs so that more producers can participate,” said Brendan Sinclair, who owns Snuggle Bug Farm near Wesley, Arkansas. “Supporting rural communities and family farms while fighting climate change – investing in climate-smart ag is a win-win.”
Farm bill conservation programs are extremely effective and popular, to the point that previous funding has only been able to meet a fraction of the demand and need for conservation. Last year, funding from the Inflation Reduction Act kicked in, granting USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service with an additional $850 million to fund climate-smart ag and forestry mitigation activities. This represented 99.8 percent of all available IRA funds for 2023. Still, demand for conservation was hundreds of millions of dollars higher than available funding.
“Congress made a promise to America’s farmers and rural communities in 2022 when it dedicated nearly $20 billion to support farmers and landowners who are ready to adopt conservation practices that help fight climate change while improving water quality and quantity, building soil health, and creating habitat for wildlife,” said Aviva Glaser, NWF’s Senior Director of Agriculture Policy. “These farmers and ranchers flew to DC last week because they know how important these programs are to their own lands and to our country’s working lands and rural communities. Now it’s time for Congress to follow through and ensure that the upcoming farm bill protects the full $20 billion and keeps it in conservation and climate."
