Articles Tagged with ''NRCS''

President Joe Biden intends to nominate Doug McKalip, a senior adviser to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, to be chief agricultural negotiator for the office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

Nearly a year after the Senate overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan bill aimed at jump-starting ag climate markets, the bill remains mired in the House Agriculture Committee, raising the possibility the legislation could be punted to the farm bill debate in the next Congress.

Thousands of producers hoping to implement more conservation practices on their farms are lining up for government assistance through the Environmental Quality Incentives and Conservation Stewardship programs, as the Agriculture Department touts the promises of climate-smart agriculture as a mitigator of climate change. But these programs, despite their billion dollar budgets, aren’t equipped to deal with this demand, forcing the agency to turn away the majority of applicants.

Producers, lawmakers, and administration staffers all agree on the benefits of the technical assistance provided by Agriculture Department conservation officials. The only issue is getting the funding – and the people – to make it happen.

Republicans on the House Agriculture Committee are raising concerns the Biden administration is putting too much emphasis on promoting climate-related ag practices, with one GOP member suggesting the policy was increasing food prices.

The Department of Agriculture is making available $225 million for public-private partnerships aimed at conservation projects, with an eye on climate change mitigation, supporting urban agriculture and helping historically underserved producers.

A new farm operating loan will come with a lower interest rate to producers who achieve certain climate change and water quality benchmarks.

Conservation groups and the Biden administration  are betting big that the promise of direct payments to farmers will supercharge their interest in cover crops, a practice relatively few have tried despite documented benefits to soil health, greenhouse emissions and water quality.