Streamlining Farm Bill Conservation Programs

The Farm Bill Conservation Title provides funding for farm environmental stewardship through programs that improve farm management practices, retire land, and protect farmland and other natural resources. However, as the ability of conservation has grown to address a wider range of conservation challenges, the list of available programs has morphed from a handful into nearly two dozen. This long list leaves many farmers and ranchers frustrated and uncertain, contributing to negative impacts on the landscape as they struggle to find the right program, practice or technique for their conservation challenges.

The streamlining of farm conservation programs, if done right, can refocus programs to diminish unnecessary overlap and make the programs work better for farmers, ranchers, conservationists and the land.

We propose an approach to streamlining the conservation title that takes on the perspective of farmers and ranchers and follows a simple two-step process.