The draft Farm Bill text released by Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) contains several provisions the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) supports, including improvements to a key buffer program, strengthening conservation investments in the watershed, and protecting additional funds for climate-smart farming practices.
Stabenow’s reauthorization bill, titled the Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act, would double the maximum payment under the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) and make it easier for states to adopt new conservation incentives to offer to farmers.
CREP is the top source of cost-share funding available to watershed farmers who plant forested buffers on their land. Buffers stabilize stream banks, prevent erosion, filter pollution, and keep livestock out of waterways. They are among the most cost-effective conservation practices for improving water quality and soil health. Planting more forested buffers is critical to improving the health of the Bay ecosystem.
Stabenow’s bill would incorporate the Chesapeake Bay States Partnership Initiative (C-SPI) into the Farm Bill, effectively ensuring the program’s continued operation. The Department of Agriculture created C-SPI in 2022 to invest an additional $22.5 million to expand watershed farmers’ use of conservation practices. Reducing nutrient runoff from farmland is essential to restoring the Bay and its rivers and streams.
The bill also protects the $20 billion set-aside for climate-smart conservation measures in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act by moving it into the Farm Bill and maintaining its focus on tackling climate change and promoting farm resiliency.
Congressional efforts to reauthorize the 2018 Farm Bill have been in limbo since it first expired on October 1, 2023. Congress extended its authority through September 30 but failed to renew it before authority for several conservation programs expired again on October 1.
CBF Federal Director Keisha Sedlacek issued the following statement:
“The strong conservation and climate focus of Chairwoman Stabenow’s draft Farm Bill is good news for efforts to restore the Bay and boost its resilience to climate change. CBF particularly appreciates the inclusion of restoration priorities like simplifying the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program and making the Chesapeake Bay States’ Partnership Initiative a permanent part of the Farm Bill.
“Nutrient runoff from farmland is the largest source of water quality impairment in the Bay watershed. Increasing agricultural conservation is essential to restoring the Bay and its waterways. Making our farms more resilient to disastrous climate change effects like heat waves, drought, and extreme storms is equally important to our region’s economy and culture.
“Time is running out for the 118th Congress to update the Farm Bill. CBF thanks Chairwoman Stabenow for moving the process forward with this legislation. Farmers in the watershed and around the country shouldn’t have to wait any longer. We urge Congress to finish work on a new Farm Bill while there is still time this year to get the job done.”
Washington, D.C. Communications & Media Relations Manager, CBF
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202-793-4485
