The Inflation Reduction Act will deliver $19.5 billion in new conservation funding to support climate-smart agriculture, according to USDA. This historic funding will bolster the new steps that USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service announced to improve opportunities for nutrient management.

NRCS will target funding, increase program flexibilities and launch a new outreach campaign to promote nutrient management’s economic benefits, in addition to expanding partnerships to develop nutrient management plans. This is part of USDA’s broader effort to address future fertilizer availability and cost challenges for U.S. producers.

Additionally, America’s farmers and ranchers will have streamlined opportunities to improve their nutrient management planning, which provides conservation benefits while mitigating the impacts of supply chain disruptions and increased input costs.

Specifically, NRCS efforts include:

Streamlined Nutrient Management Initiative. A streamlined initiative will incentivize nutrient management activities through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, EQIP Conservation Incentive Contracts, and the Conservation Stewardship Program. The initiative will use a ranking threshold for preapproval and include a streamlined and expedited application process, targeted outreach to small-scale and historically underserved producers, and coordination with the Farm Service Agency to streamline the program eligibility process for producers new to USDA. In addition to otherwise-available funding at the state level, NRCS is targeting additional fiscal-year 2023 funds for nutrient management. NRCS is also announcing a streamlined funding opportunity for up to $40 million in nutrient management grant opportunities through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program.

Nutrient Management Economic Benefits Outreach Campaign. A new outreach campaign will highlight the potential net savings to farmers who adopt a nutrient management plan, which is estimated to be an average of $30 per acre for cropland.  It is estimated that there are 89 million acres of cropland (28% of total U.S. cropland) currently exceeding the nitrogen loss threshold. If all those acres implemented a nutrient management plan, the average net savings would be $2.6 billion. Producer information is available at farmers.gov/global-food-insecurity.

Expanded Nutrient Management Support. New agreements with technical service providers who have existing capacity to support nutrient management planning and technical assistance will expand benefits and serve as a model to continue streamlining the certification process. NRCS is also developing new opportunities to support partner training frameworks, nutrient management outreach and education, and new incentive payments through TSP partners for nutrient management planning and implementation.  

Alongside the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act and American Rescue Plan, the Inflation Reduction Act provides once-in-a-generation investment in rural communities and their infrastructure needs, while also responding to the climate crisis. The bill invests $40 billion into existing USDA programs promoting climate-smart agriculture, rural energy efficiency and reliability, forest conservation and more.

Approximately $20 billion of this investment will support conservation programs that are oversubscribed, meaning that more producers will have access to conservation assistance that will support healthier land and water, improve the resilience of their operations, support their bottom line and combat climate change. This includes:

For more information and resources for nutrient management planning, visit farmers.gov/global-food-insecurity. Contact NRCS at your local USDA Service Center to get assistance with a nutrient management plan for your land.

Source: USDA NRCS