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Bonnie: USDA should honor conservation contracts

A former USDA Under Secretary says the Trump administration should honor farmer contracts for conservation programs funded by the Inflation Reduction Act.

“A deal is a deal. A contract is a contract.”

Robert Bonnie, the former USDA Under Secretary of Farm Production and Conservation, says if the Trump administration doesn’t honor the contracts, it could open them up for litigation and it wouldn’t be the first time.

“During the shutdown in 2013, I was part of the Obama administration. At that time, because we had a shutdown, we were unable to follow through on many contracts during the shutdown period. There was litigation and we lost and I’m concerned there will be litigation here as well.”

Conservation programs are at risk as Congress considers funding cuts. A study from the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign says if lawmakers roll back remaining IRA funding, farmers will lose $12.5 billion.

The study says states like Arkansas, Minnesota and Missouri could lose more than $400 million for IRA programs like the Environmental Quality Incentives Program and the Conservation Stewardship program. Bonnie says…

“Everybody wants to do away with waste, fraud and abuse, but that’s not what’s happening right now. They’re doing away with staff and programs important to rural America.”

Earlier this month, Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins said USDA’s review of IRA conservation programs had been completed and more funding would be released, but it’s unclear how much. USDA released $20 million in its first tranche in late February.