Farm Bill Primer: Conservation Title

The conservation title of a farm bill generally contains reauthorizations, amendments, and new programs that encourage farmers and ranchers to voluntarily implement resource-conserving practices on private land. Starting in 1985, farm bills broadened the conservation agenda to include addressing multiple natural resource concerns. Although the number of conservation programs has increased and techniques to address resource problems continue to emerge, the basic approach has remained unchanged: provide financial and technical assistance to farmers and ranchers to implement conservation systems supported by education and research programs.

As Congress considers authorizing the next farm bill, areas of possible interest in the conservation title may include funding for programs and climate strategies for the agricultural sector.

Conservation, status of program authorization, and policy changes for conservation programs.

Conservation Program Portfolio

Other types of and the Next Farm Bill).

Title II (Conservation) of the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 farm bill; P.L. 115-334) reauthorized and amended portions of most farm bill-authorized conservation programs, although there was a focus on the large-cost programs, namely the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), and Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). Most farm bill conservation programs are authorized to receive mandatory funding (i.e., they do not require an annual appropriation).

Status and Recent Changes

In 2022, Congress passed the bill commonly referred to as the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA; a budget reconciliation law (P.L. 117-169, 2022 lawP.L. 117-169). As part of this bill2022 law, Congress provided additional funding to selected farm bill conservation programsEQIP, CSP, the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP), and the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) and extended the authority for those programs through FY2031. Conservation programs not included in the IRA2022 law had authorities that expired with other farm bill programs at the end of FY2023. Congress enacted twothree one-year extensions

through FY2025FY2026 and crop year 2025 (2026 (P.L. 118-22, Division B, §102; and P.L. 118-158, Division D, §4101; and P.L. 119-37, Division E, §5002). In July 2025, Congress passed another budget reconciliation law (P.L. 119-21, 2025 law), which repealed unobligated funds from the 2022 law for EQIP, CSP, ACEP, and RCPP and redistributed the funds provided to the four programs. The 2025 law gave a greater percentage to EQIP, CSP, and ACEP and a lower percentage to RCPP than those provided under the 2022 law. P.L. 119-21 also repurposed some of the rescinded conservation funding to other conservation programs that did not receive funding in the 2022 law, such as the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Operations program. For additional information, see CRS In Focus IF13114, Agricultural Conservation After Enactment of the FY2025 Budget Reconciliation Law (P.L. 119-21).

In the 119^th Congress, the House Committee on Agriculture ordered reported a farm bill—the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 (H.R. 7567). The bill would reauthorize many of the expiring conservation programs, authorize new programs and initiatives, and alter funding for some programs, namely EQIP.

Outlays in billions of dollars (actuals adjusted for inflation)

Sources: CRS, using Congressional Budget Office (CBO) baseline data, FY2003-FY2026, and Office of Management and Budget, Table 10.1: "Gross Domestic Product [GDP] and Deflators Used in the Historical Tables: 1940-2031," April 2026.

Notes: FY2002-FY2023 are actual spending levels; FY2024 and FY2025 are estimates. FY2002-FY2024 are adjusted for inflation to 2025 dollars using the GDP price deflator. FY2026-FY2036 are projected spending levels in current-year dollars. Figure does not include sequestration or supplemental funding.

The majority of the funding increase has occurred in the working lands programs, specifically EQIP and CSP. Changes made to these programs in P.L. 119-21 result in a projected increase over the next 11 years (through FY2036). Funding for land retirement programs, namely CRP, has remained relatively constant over time when adjusted for inflation and is projected to continue at similar levels. Funding for easement programs and partnership and grant programs has historically fluctuated; however, P.L. 119-21 provided additional and increasing funding authority for both program types through FY2036. As Congress considers the next farm bill, there could be continued discussion around how conservation funding is allocated between different program types.

Expiring Programs and Provisions

Authorities for conservation programs not included in the 2022 or 2025 reconciliation laws expired with other farm bill programs at the end of FY2023 and subsequently were extended through FY2026. The largest conservation program set to expire at the end of FY2026 is the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). CRP provides financial compensation for landowners to voluntarily remove land from agricultural production for multiple years, for the benefit of soil and water quality and wildlife habitats. CRP enrolls land based on a total, nationwide acreage cap (27 million acres in FY2026, as extended). CRP outlays are approximately $2.0 billion annually, according to CBO. If authority expires, CRP cannot enroll new acres or reenroll expiring acres.

Other provisions contained within the conservation title of the 2018 farm bill have expired or will expire in FY2026, which could affect the function of agricultural conservation programs, regardless of their funding. For example, the 2018 farm bill limited the total amount of funding a producer may receive under both EQIP and CSP for the duration of the farm bill authorization (FY2019-FY2023). When the 2018 farm bill first expired and was extended through FY2024, the extension applied to the payment limits for both programs. This created a longer window of time that total payments would be calculated, thus possibly excluding producers at or near the limit. With each subsequent farm bill extension, the EQIP and CSP payment limit has been excluded, resulting in both programs having no payment limit for FY2025 and FY2026. Some advocacy groups have expressed concern that without payment limits, EQIP and CSP contracts may shift toward larger farming operations. Others counter that all farms, regardless of size, should be allowed access to conservation programs.

Policy Changes for Conservation

While P.L. 119-21 amended many conservation programs authorized to receive mandatory spending, the reconciliation process was limited to changes to mandatory spending that resulted in a budgetary effect and excluded policy changes to discretionary spending programs. As such, Congress may consider a number of policy amendments for conservation programs that previously could not be addressed as part of reconciliation. These could include issues related to eligibility requirements for programs, payment levels received by participants, and program limitations. Additional prioritization could be placed on specific resource concerns (e.g., greenhouse gas emission, wildlife habitat, water availability), practices (e.g., precision technology, organic certification), or applicants (e.g., beginning or limited-resource farmers or ranchers). As all conservation programs are funding- or enrollment-limited, any change in prioritization, eligibility, or payment level can effectively shift who may or may not receive a contract, easement, or grant under these programs.

The conservation title is one of the larger non-nutrition titles of the farm bill, accounting for $58 billion in projected 10-year mandatory funding (FY2025-FY2034). Spending for agricultural conservation programs generally has increased from $2.3 billion in FY2002 ($3.7 billion when adjusted for inflation) to an estimated $5.3 billion in total outlays in FY2024 (Figure 1).

Current agriculture sector strategies for addressing climate change, through both adaptation and mitigation, rely on the delivery of voluntary conservation technical assistance and financial support programs. Most farm bill conservation programs are designed to address multiple concerns through locally adaptable practices. No existing conservation program is specific to climate change adaptation or mitigation, but most programs can integrate adaptation to changes in climate within their current structure.

Changes to mandatory spending authorized in a farm bill are measured against a baseline projection at a particular point in time that assumes current law continues unchanged. Figure 1 shows the projected baseline for farm bill conservation programs over a 10-year period (FY2025- FY2034). Funding provided through the IRA is supplemental and not considered part of the farm bill baseline (see CRS In Focus IF12233, Farm Bill Primer: Budget Dynamics, for additional information). Thus, once IRA funding is obligated by FY2031, only the farm bill baseline funding for conservation would remain (see FY2032 and thereafter in Figure 2). In the 118^th Congress, the farm bill ordered to be reported by the House Agriculture Committee (H.R. 8467) and the Senate- introduced farm bill (S. 5335) would have rescinded unobligated IRA funding and added it to the farm bill baseline. The bills differed on whether this change would have increased funding for conservation programs and how much should have been directed to climate-change-related practices, as currently required in the IRA, or whether the funding should have been used to increase other titles of the farm bill unrelated to conservation or climate-change- related activities. Without congressional action, IRA funds continue to be obligated until expended as directed through the conservation programs identified in the IRA.

Nineteen provisions in the 2018 farm bill, including three in the conservation title, received mandatory budget authority but are not assumed to receive such funding in the budget baseline beyond the original expiration of the 2018 farm bill (see CRS In Focus IF12115, Farm Bill Primer: Programs Without a Budget Baseline). These three programs received $130 million in mandatory funding in the 2018 farm bill and were extended with funding authority in the FY2024 extension. The FY2025 extension did not include funding; therefore, the programs have ceased to operate. Under current budget rules, if policymakers want to continue these programs, they would need to pay for them with offsets.