Beaver State News

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ron Wyden and colleagues announced on June 26 they introduced legislation to help small farms access federal conservation programs.

“Family farmers and ranchers in Oregon and nationwide play an essential role in conservation, but often face financial barriers to farming practices that improve soil health and reduce carbon emissions. Our bill has one goal — making it easier for underserved and small family farms to access federal funds to get this important work off the ground. It's a win-win-win for the climate, for family farmers and ranchers struggling to compete with the big guys, and for the American families they feed,” Wyden said.

The USDA’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program offers farmers and ranchers financial cost-share and technical assistance to implement conservation practices on working agricultural lands. Small farms and ranches often find it difficult to navigate federal conservation programs and, because payment rates are based on acreage, they face meaningful pay discrepancies compared to larger agricultural operations. Small farmers who wish to undertake soil health practices have to dedicate the same time and effort as larger farms to access the Environmental Quality Incentives Program while only receiving a fraction of the benefit.

The Small Farm Conservation Act modifies the Environmental Quality Incentives Program to create a new subprogram dedicated to helping small farmers and ranchers access and receive adequate financial and technical assistance. 

Specifically, the Small Farm Conservation Act would:

• Create a subprogram within Environmental Quality Incentives Program tailored to support small farms and ranches;
• Establish a National subprogram Coordinator and one in each State;
• Streamline the application and approval processes for small farmers and ranches;
• Create a bonus payment for farms under 50 acres employing soil health practices;
• Allow small farms to enroll on a continuous basis instead of waiting for the annual ranking period; and
• Require the Natural Resources Conservation Service to train field staff on conservation tailored for small-scale agriculture and to conduct outreach to small-scale farmers and ranchers.

The legislation was led by U.S. Senators Michael Bennet, D-Colo., Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., and Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio. Alongside Wyden, the bill was cosponsored by U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., Angus King, I-Maine, Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Jack Reed, D-R.I., and John Fetterman, D-Pa.

The text of the bill is here.

A summary is here.

Original source can be found here.