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Policy analyst says conservation spending is the key takeaway in the IRA

A policy analyst says the Senate-passed Inflation Reduction Act could be a mixed bag for the agriculture industry.

Brad Lubben with the University of Nebraska says there’s an additional $20 billion in funding that would help expand climate-smart practices.  “It’s a major push in spending. We have to look at it more carefully and see it role out to figure out what kind of practices will be rewarded with these incentives and programs compared to what the existing programs have done.”

The Inflation Reduction Act includes $8.5 billion earmarked for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, $3 billion for the Conservation Stewardship Program, $5 billion for the Regional Conservation Partnership Program, $1.5 billion for the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program, and $1.5 billion for technical assistance.

He says the proposal could open the door to expansion of the conservation title in the next farm bill. “At a minimum, it’s a major investment now, which substantially ramps up projected spending on conservation programs. It changes sort of the tenor of the debate about where dollars should or should not be allocated in the farm bill.”

He says the proposal includes tax incentives that would expand the biofuels industry with the biggest impact to soy biodiesel and sustainable aviation fuel. And, the Inflation Reduction Act, would deliver a $5 billion farm debt relief package.