Congressional leaders are considering slashing hundreds of billions of dollars in conservation funding for farmers, potentially leading to significant losses for producers in Arkansas. According to an analysis conducted by Jonathan Coppess, director of the Gardner Agriculture Policy Program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Arkansas could lose $665 million in conservation funding, making it the second most impacted state behind Texas.
Farmers like Jared Phillips from Prairie Grove are concerned about the potential cuts, as conservation funding helps them make valuable improvements to protect their land against extreme weather while also boosting their business. If the cuts go through, Arkansas farmers stand to lose $142 million from the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), $266 million from the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), $161 million from the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), and $95 million from the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP).
Leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives have tasked the Agriculture Committee with finding $230 billion in spending cuts through 2031, and reducing conservation funding could be part of those cuts. Invest in Our Land, an organization focused on farmers and farm policy, has developed an interactive map to show farmers in every state how much money they stand to lose if the cuts are made.
With Congressional leaders still working out the details of the latest federal budget, Arkansas farmers and conservation advocates are hopeful that funding for critical conservation programs will be preserved to support sustainable agriculture practices and help farmers protect their land and livelihoods.
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