Funding for a longstanding food-assistance program is at the center of the Farm Bill reauthorization debate. But there also are calls to make it easier for farmers in North Dakota and elsewhere to access climate-linked programs. The Farm Bill is updated by Congress every five years, and like previous attempts, lawmakers are clashing over funding levels for SNAP benefits, a key component of the policy. The bill also covers conservation programs, which offer incentives for farmers to adopt practices that make their land more resilient.
Michael Happ, program associate, Climate and Rural Communities at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policies said it is reasonable for some farm groups to want to make these programs stronger.
"A small farmer, stretched really thin, might not have time to fill out a 20 page application," Happ said. "We need to keep accountability in these programs, and we need to make sure they're not weakened. But it's not easy right now for farmers to access these programs."
Among its Farm Bill requests, the North Dakota Farmers Union wants Congress to increase flexibility for existing conservation programs and provide sufficient funding to meet demand, and Happ added accessibility issues at the state level. In North Dakota last year, fewer than 20% percent of regional farmers who applied for Conservation Stewardship Program funding were approved.
However, North Dakota fared better in applications for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program. Still, Happ continued because there is a long gap between each Farm Bill, lawmakers have a narrow window to make changes as agriculture faces pressure to do its part in addressing climate change.
Source: publicnewsservice.org
Categories: North Dakota, Government & Policy