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Congress’s Failure to Transfer IRA Funding into Farm Bill is Major Setback for Conservation    

(Washington, D.C.) American Farmland Trust was pleased to see continued funding for the federal government and much-needed disaster relief and producer economic assistance included in the year-end package passed today by Congress. However, Congress’s failure to transfer the remaining Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) conservation dollars into the Farm Bill as part of this legislation represents a critical missed opportunity to invest in the long-term viability of our nation’s farmers and ranchers.  

Conservation programs are popular, oversubscribed, and key to helping producers remain profitable and build resilience to extreme weather. For instance, cover crops and reduced tillage can lead to higher yields and reduce the risk of loss to drought and flooding, which benefits both producers and taxpayers. Conservation programs also protect irreplaceable working farmland and ranchland and support reinvestment in farm businesses. This is essential at a time when our nation is losing 2,000 agricultural acres a day.  

By transferring the IRA dollars to build Farm Bill conservation baseline, Congress could have ensured additional conservation funding to meet farmer and rancher demand. Instead, as a result of its inaction, thousands of farmers and ranchers will be denied the ability to enhance their profit margins, protect their soil and land, and improve water quality for all of us. 

American Farmland Trust is grateful for the tireless efforts of Agriculture Committee leadership and other members of Congress to include the conservation funding in the year-end package. And we look forward to working with the new Congress to strengthen these programs and to ensure we seize the opportunity to transfer remaining IRA dollars into the Farm Bill for the sake of future generations.   

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American Farmland Trust is the only national organization that takes a holistic approach to agriculture, focusing on the land itself, the agricultural practices used on that land, and the farmers and ranchers who do the work. AFT launched the conservation agriculture movement and continues to raise public awareness through our No Farms, No Food® message. Since our founding in 1980, AFT has helped permanently protect over 8 million acres of agricultural lands, advanced environmentally-sound farming practices on millions of additional acres and supported thousands of farm families.