The Natural Resources Conservation Service is using a portion of USDA’s climate smart agriculture funding, the near $20 billion provided in the Inflation Reduction Act passed last year, to boost participation in conservation programs.
These programs include the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). Both are working lands programs that pay farmers for implementing conservation practices. USDA says if producers want to sign up for either program in the current year they must do it by their state’s respective ranking date, which varies across the Midwest.
