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Growing concerns about frozen conservation payments

Some farmers and ag groups are concerned President Trump’s executive order to freeze conservation funding could impact those already committed to implementing climate smart practices. 

A federal judge in Rhode Island has ordered the Trump administration to immediately unfreeze funding made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. 

Josh Gackle is a farmer from North Dakota and past president of the American Soybean Association.

“They’ve already got money on the line, are expecting to see that reimbursement and to see that partnership with the program,” he says. “We just feel it’s important and other commodity groups as well feel that the government should live up to the commitments that they made.”

Central Indiana farmer Don Villwock says research funding is critical to improving conservation.

“There is always more that we could do or should do,” he says. “We need more data and research to verify and improve on those practices, so losing research is really a setback.”

Gackle says in an already tough economic environment, this adds more uncertainty for farmers.

“Many of these projects are multi year projects,” he says. “If you implement a practice on your farm that qualifies for the climate-smart program, it’s not just one year. It takes one year, three years, five years to complete that. It’s a substantial investment on the front end by the farmer expecting that the program is in place and that it will be covered.”

The American Soybean Association says these programs are critical to the continued success of the industry and it’s important to honor the commitments made to America’s farmers and ranchers.

Brownfield has requested a comment from the Department of Agriculture.

AUDIO: Josh Gackle, American Soybean Association