ICYMI: Boozman Op-Ed in the Arkansas Money and Politics: “Setting the Record Straight — Support Overwhelming for Farm Bill Conservation Programs”

Ranking Member Boozman wrote an opinion piece published in this month’s edition of the Arkansas Money & Politics that highlights efforts by Senate Republicans to increase conservation funding by nearly 30 percent well into the future.

Key takeaways

• Conservation programs have bipartisan support because they work. Farmers, ranchers and foresters often cite these programs as an example of what the U.S. Department of Agriculture gets right because they are voluntary, incentive-based and locally led. These programs are so popular that demand for them regularly exceeds available dollars. That is why Senate Republicans are actively pushing to increase program funding for years to come.

• The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) expires Sept. 30, 2031. Since the law was passed along party lines, the likelihood of an extension is slim. This creates a looming conservation cliff for all IRA-related conservation activities. We can avoid that collapse by moving IRA dollars into the conservation title as part of a bipartisan Farm Bill. This could represent a nearly 30 percent increase in funding well into the future. Over the next 25 years, we’re looking at an additional investment in conservation spending of more than $44 billion.

• My Republican colleagues and I only have one stipulation — remove the “climate-smart” requirements dictated by the IRA so the funds are available to all producers for all conservation practices consistent with how these Farm Bill programs have always operated.

• The next Farm Bill is a historic opportunity to build conservation baseline, but it must be done the right way. Any discussion on the IRA that doesn’t begin with building baseline risks missing out on this important opportunity.

Opinion: Guest Writer

JOHN BOOZMAN: Setting the Record Straight — Support Overwhelming for Farm Bill Conservation Programs
July 17, 2024

As the lead Republican on the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry, I am one of a handful of lawmakers charged with drafting the new Farm Bill.

This contract with our farmers covers everything from risk management tools to nutrition programs that help those in need to investments that grow America’s rural communities.

The Farm Bill’s conservation programs were recently the focus of a piece in Arkansas Money & Politics.

These programs have bipartisan support because they work. Farmers, ranchers and foresters often cite these programs as an example of what the U.S. Department of Agriculture gets right because they are voluntary, incentive-based and locally led.

No one on the committee on either side of the aisle is advocating for cuts to the Farm Bill’s conservation programs. These programs are so popular that demand for them regularly exceeds available dollars.

That is why Senate Republicans are actively pushing to increase program funding for years to come.

Let me explain how.

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 provided more than $17 billion in new funding authority for “climate-smart” agriculture and forestry activities through existing USDA programs.

This law was written and passed through a partisan process that cut out Republicans and, worse yet, stakeholders.

The IRA expires Sept. 30, 2031. Since the law was passed along party lines, the likelihood of an extension is slim. This creates a looming conservation cliff for all IRA-related conservation activities.

We can avoid that collapse by moving IRA dollars into the conservation title as part of a bipartisan Farm Bill. The increased funding levels would continue for conservation programs into perpetuity — subject only to congressional reauthorizations — and those funds would avoid the 2031 expiration established in the Democrats’ IRA.

This could represent a nearly 30 percent increase in funding well into the future. Over the next 25 years, we’re looking at an additional investment in conservation spending of more than $44 billion.

My Republican colleagues and I only have one stipulation — remove the “climate-smart” requirements dictated by the IRA so the funds are available to all producers for all conservation practices consistent with how these Farm Bill programs have always operated.

When Washington, D.C., decides which practices and resource concerns are more important, it undermines the continued success of USDA’s voluntary, locally led conservation programs and disadvantages certain states and farmers whose natural resource concerns can’t be addressed through the limited list of “climate-smart” practices.

Taking this action would simply open these dollars up to the diverse conservation needs of all our farmers. This approach would bring us back to the reason farmers value these programs — they empower producers to make the best decisions to meet the resource concerns of their specific operation.

Our conservation programs must reflect this reality and provide the flexibility our farmers and ranchers need, rather than be tailored to the arbitrary goals established by the administration’s agenda.

A sole focus on carbon sequestration, which is what the “climate-smart” tag applies to, ignores the massive benefits to soil health, water quality, wildlife habitat, drought resilience and more that conservation funding creates.

The next Farm Bill is a historic opportunity to build conservation baseline, but it must be done the right way. Any discussion on the IRA that doesn’t begin with building baseline risks missing out on this important opportunity. 

Rogers optometrist John Boozman is Arkansas’ senior U.S. senator. The Republican served as the U.S. House representative for Arkansas’ 3rd District from 2001 to 2011, when he was first elected to the Senate.