The Department of Agriculture will release about $20 million in conservation payments to farmers that has been held up in the Trump administration’s review of grants and contracts, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said.
In a statement Thursday, Rollins said the payments are the first tranche of what will ultimately be sent to farmers who have direct contracts with the USDA in the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program and the Conservation Stewardship Program. The department didn’t say how much it will eventually pay, and the $20 million represents a small fraction of the outstanding agreements.
The programs cover tens of millions of acres around the country, helping farmers control erosion, build healthier soil and prevent pollution of waterways, in addition to curbing certain greenhouse gases.
“American farmers and ranchers are the backbone of our nation,” Rollins said, on the same day she held a roundtable meeting with two dozen farmers from several states and also met with Zippy Duvall, the president of the American Farm Bureau Federation.
