Farm Bill Legislative Side-By-Side

This briefing from the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) provides a legislative side-by-side comparison of the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) under current law and the House Agriculture Committee's amended text from May 2024. It details the program's goals of promoting agricultural production and environmental quality, its funding mechanisms, and proposed changes to payment structures and eligible practices, particularly regarding precision agriculture and climate resilience.

• The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), administered by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), provides financial and technical assistance to agricultural producers and non-industrial forest managers to address natural resource concerns and deliver environmental benefits.
• EQIP supports climate-related goals through practices such as cover crops, no-till farming, and agroforestry to sequester carbon and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A specific $38 million EQIP Cover Crop Initiative was created in 2021 to assist producers in 11 states.
• Mandatory funding for EQIP increased gradually under the 2018 Farm Bill, reaching $2.025 billion in FY 2023, a level extended through FY 2024. Additionally, the Inflation Reduction Act allocated $8.45 billion for EQIP across FY 2023 through FY 2026, including $3.45 billion for FY 2026.
• Under current law, payments to producers for performing a practice generally cannot exceed 75 percent of associated costs or 100 percent of foregone income. However, for limited resource, socially disadvantaged, veteran, or beginning farmers and ranchers, the Secretary shall increase these amounts to not more than 90 percent of costs.
• The House version of the Farm Bill proposes expanding the criteria for increased payments for state-determined high-priority practices to include those that increase carbon sequestration or reduce greenhouse gas emissions, specifically mentioning methane and nitrous oxide.
• The House version introduces a specific provision for increased payments for precision agriculture, allowing the Secretary to cover up to 90 percent of costs for adopting precision agriculture practices and acquiring related technology for conservation purposes.
• The House version proposes extending the timeline for several funding allocations and program authorizations from the 2018 Farm Bill, shifting various end dates from 2031 or 2023 to 2029.
• The House version proposes increasing the aggregate payment limit for conservation practices related to organic production and the transition to organic production to $200,000 for the period of fiscal years 2025 through 2029, up from $140,000 for FY 2019 through 2023.
• The House version suggests expanding the definition of 'new or innovative conservation approach' for on-farm conservation innovation trials to include perennial production systems, such as agroforestry and perennial forages and grain crops.
• The House version proposes updating the conservation practice database to include data for evaluating new and emerging technologies and recommendations for their application at state and regional levels.

APA

Environmental and Energy Study Institute (2024). Farm Bill Legislative Side-By-Side. https://www.eesi.org/files/Side-by-Side-Farm-Bill-2024-Environmental-Quality-Incentives-Program-EQIP.pdf

Chicago

Environmental and Energy Study Institute. Farm Bill Legislative Side-By-Side. 2024. https://www.eesi.org/files/Side-by-Side-Farm-Bill-2024-Environmental-Quality-Incentives-Program-EQIP.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Environmental and Energy Study Institute |title=Farm Bill Legislative Side-By-Side |date=18 June 2024 |url=https://www.eesi.org/files/Side-by-Side-Farm-Bill-2024-Environmental-Quality-Incentives-Program-EQIP.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{environmentalandenergystudyinstitute2024farm, author = {{Environmental and Energy Study Institute}}, 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-Environmental-Quality-Incentives-Program-EQIP.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }