Latest news with #EnvironmentalQualityIncentivesProgram
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Farmers in Richland County can get paid to plant cover crops — here's how
The Richland Soil and Water Conservation District is accepting applications for the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District Cover Crop Cost Share program. Enrollment is open until June 20, according to an announcement. The program aims to encourage farmers and landowners to plant cover crops to reduce soil erosion and enhance soil health. In 2024, the program helped establish cover crops on 380 acres of farmland in Richland County. Producers accepted into the program will receive $12 per acre for cover crops planted. A cap of 175 acres applies for landowners enrolling in multiple counties. Enrollment is open for those landowners and farmers within the assessment zone. However, cover crops planted in the watersheds of Charles Mill or Pleasant Hill Lakes qualify for funding without an acreage cap. Participants must note that they cannot enroll in this program if they already receive funding for the same cover crop through other programs like the Environmental Quality Incentives Program or the Conservation Stewardship Program. Additionally, applicants must adhere to the seeding dates and rates set by the United States Department of Agriculture-Natural Resources Conservation Service. To apply or for more information, interested parties can contact Technician Matt Wallace at 419.747.8687 or via email at This story was created by Jane Imbody, jimbody@ with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more at or share your thoughts at with our News Automation and AI team. This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Richland County farmers: Want $12 an acre to plant cover crops?
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Shoppers face rising prices as hidden threat drives record-high fruit costs: 'Domestic production … will trend downward in the long run'
Intense shifts in global temperatures have led to heat waves and droughts, melting ice caps, and changes in precipitation patterns. It's no surprise, then, that agriculture has also suffered, the warming planet having notable effects on international trade. As one recent example, Yonhap News Agency, via The Statesman, reported that poor harvests in South Korea stemming from climate change have pushed the country to increase its fresh fruit imports. The cost of South Korea's imports of 12 types of fresh fruit rose by a shocking 20.1% from 2023 to 2024, for a total cost of $1.45 billion USD. Fruit imports to South Korea have reportedly never seen a price tag so steep, but as rising global temperatures lead to produce shortages, demands increase and, in turn, bills. The global fruit import value has an annual growth rate of 1.92%. Total imports of fresh and frozen fruits in South Korea are predicted to increase to 817,000 tons this year. "Imports of fruits are projected to rise further, as domestic production of fruits will trend downward in the long run given weather conditions and the constant fall in their cultivation area," an official from the Korea Rural Economic Institute told Yonhap (The Statesman). Per the United States Environmental Protection Agency, "more than half the nation's land is used for agricultural production." But as weather, water, and natural resources are affected by rising temperatures, quality crop yields can plummet. Fruits like bananas and oranges have seen significant declines in global production due to failed seasons and poor harvests. This hikes up prices on imports, with costs passed onto the consumer. The South Korean government has lowered tariffs on fruit imports to slow inflation rates, and they are not alone. According to a 2015 policy brief from the United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research, other governments have taken steps to moderate food prices too, "through export restrictions, reduced import tariffs, removal of valueadded tax on food, and release of grain stock" as well as "compensating select groups of consumers" through various initiatives. Do you worry about how much food you throw away? Definitely Sometimes Not really Never Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. In the U.S., the Department of Agriculture's Environmental Quality Incentives Program exists to provide assistance to agricultural producers in response to natural resource concerns. The USDA Climate Hubs also connect agricultural professionals with resources to help them adapt to impacts in their areas. Meanwhile, consumers can take action at home to help lower their own grocery bills. Purchasing local produce, meal planning prior to shopping, and reducing food waste can make a real difference. Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more and waste less, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
NBC News
31-03-2025
- Business
- NBC News
In Hawaii, where 90% of food is imported, farmers who offset imbalance now face cuts
Native Hawaiian farmer Kaina Makua was anticipating $470,000 from the federal government this year to quadruple his production of kalo, or taro, the ancestral crop that is pounded into the sticky, purple staple poi. In January, he found out the money wasn't coming. In Hawaii, where 90% of the food is imported, local farmers like Makua need boosts from federal funding so there is greater food security in the islands. State researchers have found an island needs to grow at least 50% of its staple crops — like kalo, 'ulu (breadfruit) and 'uala (sweet potato) — to be self-sufficient in a disaster. Local farmers are not only critical to helping alleviate the rate of 1 in 3 households that are food insecure in Hawaii, but they also provide these staples and other produce to food banks and schools. However, since the Trump administration paused funds from the Inflation Reduction Act and cut other U.S. Department of Agriculture programs, nearly $90 million in funding for Hawaii and Pacific region farms and food system organizations has been frozen or cut, according to the Oʻahu Resource Conservation and Development Council. Now local farmers are 'in survival mode,' as Makua said — scaling back and unsure how to make up the loss. Makua has spent the past 15 years turning his family's farm in Kauai into a cultural hub, Aloha ʻĀina Poi Company, where he mentors young farmers and offers an after-school program so kids can learn Hawaiian farming practices and keep the traditions alive. 'Trying to grow these Indigenous crop systems, and trying to get everybody back to Native foods, it's an uphill battle,' said Makua. 'There was so much headway being made, so much effort and progress and positivity, just to be once again let down.' Hawai'i Farm Bureau Executive Director Brian Miyamoto said there is great confusion among local farmers about what is frozen and what is not. For example, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, which provides technical and financial assistance to agricultural producers, is safe for now. However, without many answers from the federal government about whether the freezes are permanent, or what shoe is dropping next, farmers are scrambling to figure out their next move. The USDA did not respond to request for comment. 'Organizations that may have had their funding frozen or may not be sure if they're going to continue being funded, they're going to have to make business decisions to start possibly laying off staffing, cut back on what the services can offer,' Miyamoto said. Over the past decade, Native Hawaiian farming practices and food systems have gained momentum, as the state's goal was to increase local food production to 20% to 30% of food consumed by 2030. Now that progress is in peril. 'We're not going to be able to achieve those agriculture goals that we've been working on for years,' said Miyamoto. 'With our cultural crops, instead of the trend of increasing that production, do we see a scaling back of it, because of the availability of federal funds to help support those programs? There is so much uncertainty.' The future of Native food production uncertain Before Western contact, Native Hawaiians subsisted on fishing and staple crops like kalo, 'ulu and 'uala. By the mid-1800s, European and American businessmen gained enough power in the islands to buy land to turn into sugar and pineapple plantations. When those industries dried up by the 1950s, most of Hawaii's agricultural land was paved over for tourism development. By the 1960s, only half of Hawaii's produce was grown locally. According to the USDA's 2022 Census of Agriculture, there are around 6,500 farmers in Hawaii, a growing number of whom are Native Hawaiian practitioners like Makua who are working to revitalize traditional food systems and nourish the land. One way local farmers have increased their reach and power over the past decade is by banding together through food hubs and cooperatives. By combining their yield, farmers can secure state contracts to feed schools and food banks. With the federal cuts, they're unsure if they can make that happen. At the Hawai'i 'Ulu Cooperative, more than 150 farmers bring in their 'ulu harvests, which are then packaged and sold frozen or as flour, pancake mix or other products to local schools, hospitals and retailers. The co-op hoped to increase its 'ulu production to a million pounds by 2030, but the USDA has frozen grants providing farmers with direct payments and technical support. A three-year, $6 million grant for farmers is also currently tied up in the funding freeze. 'The funds for the farmers were mostly about expansion,' said co-op co-founder and CEO Dana Shapiro. 'For the most part, they've all paused on their plans to do that, which is a really huge setback for folks that have prepped their fields. It means everything [unwanted] is going to grow back, and in Hawaii things grow so quickly. If you don't plant it right away, you've lost all that work.' The co-op has also been a supplier to the USDA's Local Food in Schools program that recently saw budget cuts. 'Federal cuts to these programs will have a huge impact on the co-op and our farmers, as well as on the local community of kids and underserved families, who have benefited from receiving fresh, healthy local food,' Shapiro said. Miyamoto and other local agricultural leaders spent the past week meeting with the USDA and other agencies in Washington, D.C., as part of a delegation to Congress. While they got clarification on some programs, like the continuation of the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, they did not on others. He continues to ask the state Legislature for money to make up for the federal loss, but he knows it's an uphill battle with so many sectors needing funds. Makua, meanwhile, is figuring out where to turn next. 'If this is the road to success, it's going to be a resilient road, and the humans that will come out of our program at least will be more than resilient,' he said. 'But we might pivot. We don't know. We'll see what the summer brings.'
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Grant funds promised to New Mexico farmers and ranchers caught up in federal funding freeze
Feb. 20—SANTA FE — Millions in already approved grant funding meant to pay for soil health and water conservation projects in New Mexico has been in limbo, creating an impossible dilemma for some farmers. Although the money was already approved by Congress and signed off by the last presidential administration, and in some cases grant contracts had already been signed with recipients, President Donald Trump's administration froze payments for some Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) grants. A Trump executive order to freeze federal grants so they can be reviewed to ensure they align ideologically with the president's agenda has been temporarily paused by federal courts. But Trump also signed an executive order pausing all funding provided through the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. "(Trump) does not have the legal right to not spend that money now," said Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, D-N.M., during a news conference drawing attention to the funding freeze Thursday morning. Thursday afternoon, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced that some frozen Inflation Reduction Act funds would be released and that the U.S. Department of Agriculture would honor contracts that were made directly with farmers. That includes releasing $20 million for EQIP, the Conservation Stewardship Program and the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program, according to the announcement. "After careful review, it is clear that some (Inflation Reduction Act) funding went to programs that had nothing to do with agriculture — that is why we are still reviewing — whereas other funding was directed to farmers and ranchers who have since made investments in these programs," Rollins said in a statement. EQIP is a longstanding federal program to incentivize farmers to care for natural resources — like water and air — by reimbursing them for projects that benefit those natural resources. The program is typically a cost share where farmers pay for some of the expenses, said Paula Garcia, executive director of the New Mexico Acequia Association. Under the Biden administration, producers in New Mexico received $133.4 million through EQIP, Leger Fernández said, with $22 million specifically coming from the Inflation Reduction Act. Robert Lopez, a third-generation Tucumcari farmer who grows corn and cotton, was trying to decide Thursday morning if he should complete his three-phase EQIP grant. The first two phases are finished. Those included removing a crumbling concrete water ditch and replacing it with new pipe and a new concrete ditch to ensure less water evaporates or leaks out. Phase three, seeding a field with grass to protect the soil from erosion, will cost $85,000. "I'm at a loss. ... I know that I've signed a contract with the federal government, and then if I don't honor the contract, well, then I'm in breach," Lopez said. But he worried that if he spent tens of thousands to finish the project, the federal government might not honor its side of the bargain and reimburse him, or could reimburse him after a long delay that he cannot afford. Still, Lopez considered himself lucky, because the project was broken up into three phases. "It still leaves my farm operational. What's left ... it's part of the conservation part of it, so it doesn't really affect my farming part of it. But other guys aren't as lucky. They've entered into these contracts with the entire sprinkler. So now they've already ordered the sprinkler, paid for it, and now they don't know if they'll get reimbursed," Lopez said. Garcia was concerned for the many acequia users throughout the state who regularly apply for EQIP grants. The nonprofit Acequia Association helped over 200 farmers apply for the grants over the last decade, she said. The nonprofit itself is being strained financially by federal funding freezes. Garcia expected the organization to add four staff positions this year, because it was able to secure three federal grants. But with grant funding disrupted, the nonprofit will instead be working hard not to shrink. The Acequia Association is waiting for a $65,000 reimbursement from the USDA for work it already did through a cooperative agreement to repair acequias after fire and flood damage in Lincoln and Rio Arriba counties. Garcia believes that funding may be on hold because the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency effort has interpreted the acequia repairs, which targeted underserved rural communities, as a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) program. Federal agencies were ordered to pause any potential DEI programs for review via a Trump executive order. "Never in my wildest dreams did I think that a billionaire would be calling the shots on the work that we're doing for the people in our communities and in our state," Garcia said, referring to Musk, who has been given broad authority by Trump to downsize the federal government. Trump's attempts to erode Congress' constitutionally held power to dictate federal spending makes Leger Fernández worry that no already approved federal funds are safe from disruptions, including billions meant to help northern New Mexico communities recover from the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire, which was started by the U.S. Forest Service. "The Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire money is separately appropriated, sitting in a separate pot. My hope is they're not going to touch it," Leger Fernández said. "But at this point in time, because they are acting unconstitutional in a manner that is illegal, we can't guarantee what they will do."
WIRED
20-02-2025
- Politics
- WIRED
USDA Layoffs Derail Projects Benefiting American Farmers
Feb 20, 2025 1:30 PM The blanket firing of Department of Agriculture scientists has thrown a host of climate science and crop projects into chaos. Photograph: Edwin Remsberg/ VWPics via AP Images The widespread layoff of Department of Agriculture scientists has thrown vital research into disarray, according to former and current employees of the agency. Scientists hit by the layoffs were working on projects to improve crops, defend against pests and disease, and understand the climate impact of farming practices. The layoffs also threaten to undermine billions of taxpayer dollars paid to farmers to support conservation practices, experts warn. The USDA layoffs are part of the Trump administration's mass firing of federal employees, mainly targeting people who are in their probationary periods ahead of gaining full-time status, which for USDA scientists can be up to three years. The agency has not released exact firing figures, but they are estimated to include many hundreds of staff at critical scientific subagencies and a reported 3,400 employees in the Forest Service. Employees were told of their firing in a blanket email sent on February 13 and seen by WIRED. 'The Agency finds, based on your performance, that you have not demonstrated that your further employment at the Agency would be in the public interest,' the email says. One laid-off employee described the weeks preceding the firing as 'chaos,' as the USDA paused (in response to orders from the Trump administration) and then unpaused (in response to a court order) work connected to the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)—the landmark 2022 law passed under President Joe Biden that set aside large amounts of federal money for climate policies. 'It was just pause, unpause, pause, unpause. After four or five business days of that, I'm thinking, I literally can't get anything done,' says the former employee, who worked on IRA-linked projects and asked to remain anonymous to protect them from retribution. The IRA provided the USDA with $300 million to help with the quantification of carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture. This money was intended to support the $8.45 billion in farmer subsidies authorized in the IRA to be spent on the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)—a plan to encourage farmers to take up practices with potential environmental benefits, such as cover cropping and better waste storage. At least one contracted farming project funded by EQIP has been paused by the Trump administration, Reuters reports. The $300 million was supposed to be used to establish an agricultural greenhouse gas network that could monitor the effectiveness of the kinds of conservation practices funded by EQIP and other multibillion-dollar conservation programs, says Emily Bass, associate director of federal policy, food, and agriculture at the environmental research center the Breakthrough Institute. This work was being carried out in part by the National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), two of the scientific sub-agencies hit heavily by the federal layoffs. Got a Tip? Are you a current or former government employee who wants to talk about what's happening? We'd like to hear from you. Using a nonwork phone or computer, contact the reporter securely on Signal at mattreynolds.45 'That's a ton of taxpayer dollars, and the quantification work of ARS and NRCS is an essential part of measuring those programs' actual impacts on emissions reductions,' says Bass. 'Stopping or hamstringing efforts midway is a huge waste of resources that have already been spent.' One current ARS scientist, who spoke to WIRED anonymously, as they were not authorized to talk to the press, claims that at their unit almost 40 percent of scientists have been fired along with multiple support staff. Many of their unit's projects are now in disarray, the scientist says, including work that has been planned out in five-year cycles and requires close monitoring of plant specimens. 'In the short term we can keep that material alive, but we can't necessarily do that indefinitely if we don't have anybody on that project.' In a press release, the USDA has said its plan is to 'optimize its workforce,' with this including 'relocating employees out of the National Capital region into our nation's heartland to allow our rural communities to flourish.' But ARS units are located across the US, each one specializing in crops that are important to local farmers as well as bringing jobs to the region. 'We've always been very popular in rural areas because the farmers and growers actually want what we're doing,' says the ARS scientist. The USDA did not respond to WIRED's request for comment. The hollowing-out of staff capacity will limit the USDA's ability to implement IRA policies, says Bass, but it is not clear that this was the sole intention of the cuts. 'This seems to be a sledgehammer to the workforce in a way that will just roll back the number of folks on payroll,' she says. The purge could also indirectly hit farmers in red states, who are the main beneficiaries of proposals such as EQIP. 'It was necessary research to preserve our agricultural lands and fight climate change,' says one ARS employee who was fired last week after serving more than two years of their three-year-long probation. 'Compared to the rest of the government, ARS is tiny,' they say. 'But we were able to get a lot done with relatively little money.' On her first full day in office, US secretary of agriculture Brooke Rollins told USDA staffers gathered at its headquarters in Washington that she supported the Department of Government Efficiency's attempt to optimize the USDA workforce. 'I welcome DOGE's efforts at USDA, because we know that its work makes us better, stronger, faster, and more efficient,' she told the gathering. But Bass warns that blanket firing of USDA employees is hardly a pathway toward a more efficient agency. 'This approach of wide-swath firings throws the USDA and affiliated agricultural research enterprise into a world of uncertainty,' she says. 'Projects that cannot be seen out to the end, cannot result in a peer-reviewed research paper or technical expertise being provided, are a waste of taxpayer dollars.'
