Ankeny, IA —President Trump released the Fiscal Year 2019 Budget on February 12, 2018. Below is a brief breakdown of how the budget will affect conservation funding and agricultural research.
Conservation Funding
- 25% cut to the total USDA budget, which includes the following:
- $15 billion cut to farm bill conservation programs.
- $183 million cut to Conservation Technical Assistance, the program that funds Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) “boots on the ground” to help farmers implement conservation practices.
- A proposal to eliminate the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), a program that pays producers to maintain or enhance soil and water-conserving practices on their land. The program is the most popular federal conservation program in the country, currently enrolling 72 million acres.
- A proposal to eliminate the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), a program that brings together public-private partnerships to reach conservation goals. Current projects are focused in the Chesapeake Bay watershed and the Mississippi and Colorado river basins.
- Eliminates $500 million grant component of the USDA’s rural water and wastewater program.
- Eliminates EPA Section 319 nonpoint source grant program. This popular program funds conservation projects and staff across the nation.
Research Funding
- $32 million cut (50%) to the Economic Research Service’s (ERS) budget.
- Cuts the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program by 23%.
- $173 million cut (14.5%) to the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) budget.
Download the infographic (PDF).
For More Information:
Catherine DeLong, Special Projects Director
Soil and Water Conservation Society
catherine.delong@swcs.org
515-289-2331