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1 [1] (May 3, 2019)

handle is hein.crs/govzoi0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service lifort rthe legriative debate since 1914 S May 3, 2019 2018 Farm Bill Primer: Title II Conservation Programs Title II of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 farm bill, P.L. 115-334) authorizes programs and provisions that assist farmers and ranchers in addressing environmental resource concerns on private land. The 2018 farm bill reauthorized and amended a number of existing programs, directed existing program resources, shifted funds within the title, and authorized a budget-neutral level of funding for the title. Debate on the 2018 farm bill focused on a number of issues through two different versions proposed in the House- and Senate-passed bills (H.R. 2). These differences were resolved in conference to create a final version of the title that represents a mix of both proposals. The enacted bill reauthorizes and amends portions of most conservation programs, although the main focus is on the larger programs, namely the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), and Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). Funding for Conservation Most farm bill conservation programs are authorized to receive mandatory funding and are not subject to appropriation. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the Conservation title of the 2018 farm bill makes up 7% of the bill's total projected mandatory spending over 10 years, amounting to $60 billion of the total $867 billion. The Conservation title is budget neutral over the 10-year baseline. However, the 2018 farm bill is projected to increase funding in the first five years (+$555 million over FY2019-FY2023) and decrease funding in the last five years (-$561 million over FY2024-FY2028). Generally, the 2018 farm bill reallocates mandatory funding within the Conservation title among the larger programs. Conservation Program Changes Agricultural conservation programs administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) can be grouped into the following types based on similarities: working lands, land retirement, easement, conservation compliance, and partnerships and grants. Most of these programs are authorized to receive mandatory funding and include authorities that expire with other farm bill programs at the end of FY2023. Other types of conservation programs-such as watershed programs, emergency programs, and technical assistance- are authorized in other non-farm-bill legislation. Most of these programs have permanent authorities and receive appropriations annually through the discretionary appropriations process. These programs are not generally addressed in the context of a farm bill unless amendments to the program are included. The two largest working lands programs-EQIP and CSP-were reauthorized and amended under the enacted farm bill but in different ways. Conservation Stewardship Program CSP provides financial and technical assistance to producers to maintain and improve existing conservation systems and to adopt additional conservation activities in a comprehensive manner on a producer's entire operation. The House-passed bill would have repealed CSP and created a stewardship contract within EQIP, whereas the Senate-passed bill would have reauthorized CSP and reduced program enrollment. The enacted bill creates a mix of both the House- and Senate-passed bills by reauthorizing CSP, reducing program enrollment, and creating a new incentive contract within EQIP. The enacted bill also amends CSP's enrollment criteria; contract renewal requirements; payments for cover crops, grazing management, and comprehensive conservation plan development; and organic certification allocations. Funding for CSP is shifted away from a national acreage limitation under prior law (10 million acres annually; approximately $1.4 billion in FY2018) to limits based on funding ($700 million in FY2019 increasing to $1 billion in FY2023). Environmental Quality Incentives Program EQIP provides financial and technical assistance to producers and landowners to plan and install structural, vegetative, and land management practices on eligible lands to alleviate natural resource problems. EQIP is reauthorized and expanded with an increased funding level in annual increments from $1.75 billion in FY2019 to $2.025 billion in FY2023. A number of amendments to EQIP focus on water-quality- and quantity-related practices, soil health improvement, and wildlife habitat. The bill reduces the allocation for livestock-related practices from 60% to 50% and increases the allocation for wildlife-related practices from 5% to 10%. Water conservation system payments are expanded to include irrigation and drainage entities with limitations. Conservation Innovation Grants, a subprogram under EQIP, is expanded to include community colleges, on-farm innovation, and soil health trials. Conservation Reserve Program The largest land retirement program-CRP-is reauthorized and expanded by increasing annual CRP enrollment in annual increments from 24 million acres in FY2019 to 27 million by FY2023 using such mandatory funding sums as necessary. CRP provides annual rental payments to producers to replace crops on highly erodible and environmentally sensitive land with long-term resource-conserving plantings. Within the total enrollment limit, CRP is required to enroll up to 2 million acres in grasslands contracts and up to 8.6 million acres in continuous contracts. This increase in enrollment is partly httfps:!crsreports cong --sg

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