Conservation and the 2018 farm bill

2018 SWCS International Annual Conference
July 29-August 1, 2018
Albuquerque Convention Center

1. SWCS August 2018 the 2018 farm bill updates from Washington, dc Alyssa Charney, NSAC Senior Policy Specialist

2. About NSAC NSAC is a grassroots alliance of 120 member organizations (and hundreds more partners and allies) from around the country working together to improve federal food & farm policy for 30 years!

3. Our Members

4. How NSAC Works FARMERS & STAKEHOLDERS Share their experiences, ideas, challenges related to federal policy, programs, rules with local groups MEMBER GROUPS Collect input from farmers & stakeholders as well as their own experiences, bring asks to NSAC NSAC Helps members: identify top priority sustainable food & farm policy issues nationwide, set campaign strategies, campaign to win! CONGRESS & FED AGENCIES NSAC brings – directly and thru members – priority asks to Congress and agencies like USDA to improve federal food & farm policy

5. PART 1 – Farm Bill 101 + the big picture PART 2 – 2018 Farm Bill: Where are we in the process and what comes next? PART 3 – Conservation Title: House & Senate Bills Today’s Workshop

6. Part I: Farm Bill 101 & The Big Picture

7. Policy 101 Refresher Elections: Getting people who care about sustainable agriculture into office. (Note: NSAC does not work on electoral campaigns and is nonpartisan) Authorization: “How a bill becomes a law,” i.e. supporting good legislation, stopping bad legislation (developing programs, winning $$$, making changes to policies/programs to reflect farmers’ and communities’ changing needs) Appropriations: Ensuring funding goes where it’s needed Implementation: Ensuring programs and policies work as intended at the agencies and in the field Evaluation: An ongoing process!

8. So let’s talk Farm Bill

9. Historical Context

10. The Farm Bill is … Comprehensive bill that impacts federal food and farm policy Reauthorized every 5-7 years First farm bill passed in 1933 Last farm bill passed Feb 2014 Almost $1 trillion ( over 10 years) Everything from conservation to rural development to organic research and farmers’ markets

11. The Farm Bill Influences … What is produced How it’s produced By whom is it produced What’s done with those products and where are they sold Who can afford and access those products Farmer livelihoods, the health of our environment, local economies, and public health

12. What’s in the 2014 Farm Bill? Title 1: Commodities Ex. Price Loss Coverage Title 2: Conservation Ex. EQIP; CSP; CRP; ACEP Title 3: Trade Ex. International Food Aid Title 4: Nutrition Ex. Food Stamps Title 5: Credit Ex. Farm Loans Title 6: Rural Development Value Added Agriculture; Rural Microenterprise Development Title 7: Research & Extension Ex. Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program Title 8: Forestry Ex. Healthy Forests Reserve Program Title 9:  Energy Ex. Rural Energy for America Title 10: Specialty Crops & Horticulture Ex. FMLFPP; NOCCSP; SCBG Title 11: Crop Insurance Ex. Organic Price Elections Title 12: Miscellaneous Ex. Outreach to Minority and Veteran Farmers and Ranchers

13. How the Pie Got Sliced! 2014 Farm Bill Spending Overview

14. How Does a Farm Bill Get Passed?

15. Part II: The 2018 Farm Bill: Where are we in the process and what comes next?

16. Where are we now in the farm bill process? House – Passed 5/3 Senate – Passed 6/13 House – Failed 5/18, Passed 6/21 Senate – Passed on 6/28 Process started in House TBD 2014 Farm Bill expires September 30, 2018

17. Who are the conferees? House 47 conferees total Chairman Conaway (R-TX), Ranking Member Peterson (D-MN) 28 Republicans, 19 Democrats Ag committee members + Committees with shared jurisdiction Senate Likely 9 conferees (5 R, 4 D), but not yet announced Chairman Roberts (R-KS), Ranking Member Stabenow (D-MI)

18. Issues at Play (outside of conservation) Fixes to f arm commodity programs Nutrition title – Major Differences between bills Protecting crop insurance subsidies Paying for "stranded programs” Environmental riders Election Year Politics Funding the Government Immigration Debates …

19. Stranded Programs Programs that Expire Sept. 2018: Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged and Veteran Farmers (2501) Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Value-Added Producer Grants Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentives Organic Agriculture Research and Education National Organic Cost-share Certification

20. September 30 th deadline? What happens if there’s no deal by then? Legislative days left to get it negotiated and passed? (only 11 for the House!) Formal first conference meeting with all conferees will not happen until September… Extension scenarios? Programs without baseline?

21. Part III: Conservation Title – What’s in the House & Senate bills?

22. Conservation Title - What’s at Stake?

23. Conservation in House and Senate bills What’s at stake? Working Lands Conservation Programs Land Protection Programs Partnership Programs Conservation Outcomes Conservation & Crop Insurance Overall Funding Levels AND MORE…

24. Working Lands Conservation Programs Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) Comprehensive (whole farm) conservation assistance Based on stewardship thresholds and continued improvement Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) Financial and technical assistance through cost share support for management, vegetative, and structural conservation practices House & Senate bills take significantly different approaches to funding and policy reforms to the two largest working lands conservation programs

25. Working Lands Conservation House (H.R. 2) Senate (S. 3204) CSP Acreage CSP c ompletely eliminated Acreage cap reduced from 10 to 8.8 million acres/ year CSP Policy CSP completely eliminated Improvements for cover crops, rotational grazing, stewardship threshold, ranking, comprehensive conservation planning, and more.. EQIP Funding $24.4 billion (outlays over 10 years, including stewardship contracts) $15.2 (outlays over 10 years) EQIP Policy Eliminates livestock set aside, irrigation districts, stewardship contracts, CIG Organic Initiative, Wildlife funding increase, Soil Health Pilot, Irrigation districts Total Working Lands Funding $29.5 billion (outlays over 10 years) $31.9 billion (outlays over 10 years) Historically Underserved Producers No Improvements Increases set asides from 5 to 15 percent in both programs, improves EQIP advance payment Coordination between EQIP and CSP Folds CSP into EQIP but fails to include acreage reservation or core components Authorizes coordination and allows for seamless graduation from EQIP to CSP

26. Land Protection Programs Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) Sensitive land removed from production – rental payments to replace with long term cover Continuous enrollment option for partial field enrollments of conservation buffers Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) Includes agricultural land easements (farmland and grassland) & wetland reserve easements (to protect and restore wetlands) Consolidation of programs/ funding reduction in 2014 Farm Bill

27. Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) House (H.R. 2) Senate (S. 3204) CRP Acreage Cap Increases from 24 to 29 million acres Increases from 24 to 25 million acres CRP Rental Rate Reduces to 80 percent for first enrollment, and further down for subsequent (65, 55, ….) Reduces rental rate to 88.5% of average county rental rate Continuous CRP No reservation for CCRP Reserves at least 30% for CCRP, and within it, authorizes CREP, CLEAR, and SAFE Cost Share and Incentive Payments Reduces cost share from 50% to 40%, and 25% for seed costs, eliminate incentive payments No changes to cost share rates, makes incentive payments counter-cyclical Grasslands Initiative Increases enrollment cap to 3 million acres reserved for grasslands No increase to enrollment cap Clean Rivers, Lakes, and Estuaries Initiative CLEAR not included Authorizes CLEAR, directs 40% of CCRP acres to go to CLEAR CRP TIP $33 million, no funding for outreach $50 million, including $5 million for outreach Permanent Easements Not authorized Authorizes new CRP easement program for contracts signed under this farm bill for CLEAR or SAFE

28. Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) House (H.R. 2) Senate (S. 3204) ACEP Funding Increases funding to $500 million per year Increases over 5 years: $400, $400, $400, $425, $450 million Conservation Plans Removes requirement for conservation plan on non HEL land Retains current ALE conservation plan requirements Mineral Development Allows for mineral development on agricultural land easements Mineral development not addressed Farm Viability Does not include farm viability provisions Prioritizes projects that maintain farm viability and includes affordability protections Forestland Allows for 100% forestland to qualify for ALE if provides significant conservation benefit Does not allow for 100% forestland

29. Partnership Programs Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) Financial and technical assistance for multi-state or watershed-scale projects Partnership opportunities to target and leverage conservation funding for specific areas or resource concerns Eligible partners (who apply directly to NRCS) include producer associations, state/ local government, tribes, farmer cooperatives, irrigation districts, institutions of higher educations, nonprofits, and more..

30. Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) House (H.R. 2) Senate (S. 3204) Funding Increases baseline funding to $250 million/ year and eliminates funding from covered programs Increases baseline funding to $200 million/ year and continues to take 7% funding from covered programs Funding Allocation Does not modify existing funding pools (state, national, CCA) Eliminates national funding pool and increases State (40%) and CCA (60%) pools TA and Outreach Does not include Authorizes funding to partners for TA and farmer outreach as part of project Program Outcomes Specifies partner responsibilities to quantify environmental outcomes Requires partners to quantify project’s environmental, economic, and social outcomes Covered Programs Removes CSP from list of covered programs and adds CRP and PL566 Adds CRP and PL566 authority but not funding; direct NRCS to distribute funds to projects that reflect purposes, proportionally, of covered programs Partnership Agreements Continue to utilize covered programs Increased flexibility with requirement that natural resource concerns/ standards continue to be met Grant Program Does not include Authorizes new option for grant agreements, up to 30% funding

31. Conservation Outcomes Measurement, Evaluation, and Reporting of conservation program outcomes Benefits to the farmer, natural resource protection, and utilization of taxpayer dollars Proposal included in House bill, included from the bipartisan Healthy Fields and Farm Economies Act, introduced by Rep Faso (R-NY) and Rep Fudge (D-OH) Provision not included in Senate bill but strong champions (Casey, Moran)

32. Conservation & Crop Insurance House (H.R. 2) Senate (S. 3204) Sodsaver No changes to existing sodsaver provision Closes “first four years” loophole; strengths reporting requirement, allows additional states to opt in Conservation Incentives Not included Authorizes RMA to offer annual premium discounts for risk-reducing conservation practices Good Farming Practices Not included Directs RMA to recognize all conservation practices as “good farming practices” and remove barriers to cover crop adoption Conservation Data Not included Establishes a Conservation Data Initiative including a data warehouse – to explore risk reducing potential of advanced conservation practices and systems

33. Title II Funding Farm bills are scored by CBO in terms of how much they are projected to spend over a ten-year period Why do the “out years” matter? What does it mean for program funding to have permanent baseline? How much conservation funding in House and Senate bills?

34. Title II Funding (10-year outlays) House (H.R. 2) Senate (S. 3204) Cut from baseline funding (April 2018) - $795 million $0 Cut to working lands conservation programs - $5.7 billion - $2.5 billion Programs without permanent funding $624 million $0

35. Why My Advocacy Matters If you aren’t speaking up for yourself, someone else is speaking for you Policy sets the rules of the road for just about everything in our food and farm system Want to see changes in that system? Policy is just one means to get there …

36. Stay in Touch with NSAC! Website: http:// sustainableagriculture.net Twitter: @ sustainableag Facebook: http:// on.fb.me / sustainableag Alyssa Charney, Senior Policy Specialist [email protected]

37. Questions?