Status and Trends of USDA Conservation Programs, 2002–2025

Kate Binzen Fuller, Daniel Hellerstein, Andrew Rosenberg, Dipak Subedi, Catherine Feather, Rich Iovanna, Bryan Pratt and Roger Claassen

No 396260, Economic Brief from United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service

Abstract: USDAʼs conservation programs provide incentives to agricultural producers to improve soil health, wildlife habitat, and water and air quality, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Over time, conservation funding authorized by Farm Bills has changed both in aggregate and in the relative shares of funded programs. In fiscal year 2024, estimated USDA conservation funding authorized by Farm Bills stood at $5.7 billion, with three programs (the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), and the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)) accounting for approximately 90 percent of funding. The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) provided more than $19 billion in supplemental conservation program funding to be spent from 2023–31, on EQIP, CSP, as well as the Agricultural Conservation Easements Program (ACEP), and the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). This report provides a summary of USDA conservation programs and their funding, with a focus on conservation programs in the 2002−18 Farm Bills.

Keywords: Agricultural and Food Policy; Crop Production/Industries; Environmental Economics and Policy; Farm Management; Land Economics/Use; Livestock Production/Industries; Resource/Energy Economics and Policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 24
Date: 2026-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr and nep-env
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:uerseb:396260

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.396260

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