Farm Week Now: Lawmakers push to increase conservation funding in Illinois

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin is leading a push for USDA to boost the percentage of conservation funds sent to Illinois to match the state’s status as a top farming state.

In a letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, Durbin, D-Springfield, and a dozen others from Illinois’ congressional delegation, said the state receives a “disproportionate” share of funds from USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) for critical farm conservation initiatives.

“We request that USDA double, even triple, the percentage of nationwide conservation funding allocated to Illinois,” the letter states. “We also urge USDA to revise its program rules to better recognize the conditions specific to Illinois agriculture so that participation in these critical farm conservation programs can be rapidly expanded in our state.”

Illinois ranks fourth in the nation in planted cropland, but from 2018 to 2022, Illinois ranked just 37th nationally in funds sent by USDA for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, a program that provides incentives to help farmers adopt cover crops, conservation tillage and other critical environmental practices.

“We appreciate Senator Durbin penning the letter asking USDA to increase conservation dollars back to Illinois,” said Illinois Farm Bureau President Brian Duncan. “These dollars are important to help farmers to continue to grow and implement these practices.”

The Inflation Reduction Act added $20 billion to USDA NRCS conservation programs. Of the first $2 billion installment USDA distributed nationwide, Illinois was provided only $48 million, or 2%. Texas, with a similar amount of planted cropland to Illinois, was provided $166 million in conservation funds — nearly 8% of the national total and nearly four times more than Illinois, the letter states. The legislators also pointed to increasing dust storms in Illinois during planting season.

Illinois farmers also are working to adjust to policies that now require climate-smart farming for eligibility, including the carbon-reduction designs of the new Sustainable Aviation Fuel federal tax credit, which requires farmers to dramatically expand the adoption of climate-smart practices to be eligible for participation, like cover crops, conservation tillage and fertilizer reduction. Better access to USDA’s conservation funding would assist in these efforts, the letter states.

“In addition, USDA must rethink how these conservation programs are administered, because the current one-size-fits-all approach creates challenges in Illinois,” according to the letter. “Illinois farms have a tremendous diversity of terrain, soils, moisture, microclimates, weather patterns and cropping practices. USDA, however, requires all farms, regardless of location, to adopt uniform, inflexible ‘standards’ to be eligible for reimbursement for adopting these conservation practices.”

Further, the cost of cover crops adds up quickly for seed, fuel, labor, removal and time, and cover crops often cannot be sold to recover those costs, the legislators wrote. Farmers must test the right cover crops that do not interfere with crop insurance, yields, or tight planting windows for corn or soybeans.

“Couple these challenging dynamics with USDA’s low funding allocations to Illinois, cumbersome program rules, federal staffing shortages and application processing backlogs, and many Illinois farmers are discouraged from applying for these USDA incentives altogether — and if they do, one estimate says 40% of valid Illinois applications go unfunded by USDA,” the letter states.

Co-signers of the letter include: U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Hoffman Estates; and U.S. Reps. Robin Kelly, D-Matteson; Lauren Underwood, D-Naperville; Nikki Budzinski, D-Springfield; Sean Casten, D-Downers Grove; Danny Davis, D-Chicago; Bill Foster, D-Naperville; Jonathan Jackson, D-Chicago; Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Schaumburg; D-Chicago; Delia Ramirez, D-Chicago; and Eric Sorensen, D-Moline.

“We appreciate the members of the Illinois congressional delegation who signed onto this letter and for advocating on behalf of farmers to make this crucial funding available in our state,” Duncan said.