Farm Bill Legislative Side-By-Side

The document compares the current legal framework of the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) with proposed changes from the House Agriculture Committee. Key updates in the House version include the addition of precision agriculture conservation activities as a basis for supplemental payments and the inclusion of costs for precision agriculture technology in payment determinations. It also outlines a new 'State Assistance for Soil Health' grant program for fiscal years 2025 through 2029, providing up to $100 million annually to eligible States and Indian Tribes, prioritizing those with climate action plans that include soil health.

• The House version of the Farm Bill proposes expanding the criteria for supplemental payments to include 'precision agriculture conservation activities' alongside resource-conserving crop rotations and advanced grazing management.
• Under the House proposal, the Secretary's determination of annual payment amounts would explicitly consider increased costs related to 'planning and adopting precision agriculture conservation activities and acquiring precision agriculture technology'.
• The document introduces a 'State Assistance for Soil Health' section that allocates $100 million annually from fiscal years 2025 through 2029 for grants to eligible States and Indian Tribes to improve soil health on agricultural lands.
• For the State Assistance for Soil Health grants, the Secretary is directed to give priority to applicants that possess a 'climate action plan that includes soil health'.
• The House version proposes shortening the program's duration, changing the establishment and purpose period from 'fiscal years 2019 through 2031' to 'fiscal years 2019 through 2029'.
• The CSP supports climate-friendly practices such as 'cover crops, rotational livestock grazing, and agroforestry' to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or sequester carbon, and includes the Grassland Conservation Initiative to improve soil health and water quality.
• Funding for CSP includes mandatory authorizations from the 2018 Farm Bill, which reached $1 billion for FY 2023, and additional allocations from the Inflation Reduction Act totaling $3.25 billion distributed between FY 2023 and FY 2026.

APA

Bertrand, S., & Pouy, N. (2024). Farm Bill Legislative Side-By-Side. Environmental and Energy Study Institute. https://www.eesi.org/files/Side-by-Side-Farm-Bill-2024-Conservation-Stewardship-Program-CSP.pdf

Chicago

Bertrand, Savannah, and Nicole Pouy. Farm Bill Legislative Side-By-Side. Environmental and Energy Study Institute, 2024. https://www.eesi.org/files/Side-by-Side-Farm-Bill-2024-Conservation-Stewardship-Program-CSP.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bertrand |first1=Savannah |last2=Pouy |first2=Nicole |title=Farm Bill Legislative Side-By-Side |publisher=Environmental and Energy Study Institute |date=3 June 2024 |url=https://www.eesi.org/files/Side-by-Side-Farm-Bill-2024-Conservation-Stewardship-Program-CSP.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bertrand2024farm, author = {Bertrand, Savannah and Pouy, Nicole}, title = {{Farm Bill Legislative Side-By-Side}}, institution = {Environmental and Energy Study Institute}, year = {2024}, month = jun, url = {https://www.eesi.org/files/Side-by-Side-Farm-Bill-2024-Conservation-Stewardship-Program-CSP.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }