PA Farmers Could Lose $256M In Congressional Funds: Report

PENNSYLVANIA — The next Farm Bill could see Pennsylvania farmers lose millions in funding for programs that protect soil health, increase profits and productivity, and clean up public waterways, a report said.

Congress approved an extension of the 2018 bill in November, which kept certain programs from running out through September 2024. But as the Pennsylvania Capital-Star reported, Republican lawmakers are seeking to revoke funding for SNAP and for certain U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) conservation programs that deal with soil health and cleaning up public waterways.

A report from researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign identified $256 million in funding that Pennsylvania farmers would lose, from programs such as the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP), and the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP).

The researchers' report notes that, across the country, “demand persistently exceeds the funds available. In fact, demand has historically been twice what Congress has funded.”

During the most recent Farm Bill, passed in 2018, Pennsylvania was allocated more than $167 million for the EQIP and CSP programs, the Capital-Star reported.

Read more in the Pennsylvania Capital-Star.