Author: Megan Stubbs

Publisher:

Published: 2018

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13:

EQIP is the largest agriculture conservation program for working lands.3 The program encourages farmers and ranchers to participate in conservation efforts by paying a portion of the cost of installing or constructing approved conservation practices. [...] EQIP was amended and reauthorized in both the 2002 and 2008 farm bills.4 The U. S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) administers EQIP under a final rule.5 NRCS implemented EQIP by establishing national priorities to reflect the most pressing natural resource needs and emphasize offsite benefits to the environment. [...] The FY2010 appropriations act (Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2010, P. L. 111-80) limited EQIP to $1.18 billion for FY2010-a reduction of $270 million from the authorized level of $1.45 billion in the 2008 farm bill.11 For FY2011, the Administration has proposed a limit of $1.208 billion-a reduction of $380 million from the [...] As shown in Figure 1, the authorized funding level has continued to increase since the 2002 farm bill; however, annual appropriations acts have reduced the actual funding levels by a total of nearly $1.6 billion from FY2005 through FY2010.19 With the 111th Congress facing tighter budget constraints, similar cuts to EQIP could be considered either in the appropriations process or by the authorizing [...] Most of the concern about the child nutrition bill appears to revolve around the proposed reduction of EQIP funding to offset the bill's funding increases.