FSA News - Lone Star State Edition: November 2023 Page: 3
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Reflecting on FY23, our efforts, combined with those of our partnership with organizations and
producers yielded some impressive results through our programs. Texas had over 10,000
active financial assistance contracts with farmers, ranchers and forest stewards in FY23. In
our most popular and widely implemented program, the Environmental Quality Incentives
Program (EQIP), we delivered nearly $123 million to producers to apply conservation
practices on 1.9 million acres across the state. Our Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP)
takes conservation efforts a step further with a combination of practices to achieve effective
results on the land. Producers across the state received $16.1 million in CSP funding for
practices on over 540,000 acres. In our conservation easement programs we delivered $22.4
million for partnership easements covering almost 25,000 acres.
By now you may have heard of the additional funding our agency received in Farm Bill and
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funding assistance for climate-smart agriculture and forestry to
support producers in building resiliency across their operations. Under IRA, nationwide, EQIP
will receive $8.45 billion and CSP $3.25 billion beginning in 2023 and last through 2026. IRA
funding through EQIP and CSP is specifically set aside for conservation practices that have
been determined to be "climate smart agriculture and forestry" (CSAF) practices because of
their scientifically proven ability to mitigate and improve damaged natural resources. The
program started in FY23 and with the funds we received in Texas, we were able to provide
$12.4 million in EQIP funding for conservation projects implemented on 127,000 acres, $5
million in CSP funds on 150,000 acres and $25.4 million in in funds for easements through our
Agriculture Land Easement (ALE) program.
We have been asked the question "What is 'Climate Smart Agriculture?"' Climate Smart Ag is
an agriculture operation management approach that considers natural resources and
manages them in a way that is beneficial for the environment. This has been the backbone on
which NRCS has been providing technical and financial assistance since 1935. The practices
historically offered through EQIP and CSP are beneficial for the environment. Climate-smart
agriculture and forestry is an integrated approach that enables farmers, ranchers, and forest
landowners to respond to climate change by reducing or removing greenhouse gas emissions
(mitigation) and adapting and building resilience (adaptation), while sustainably increasing
agricultural productivity and incomes.
IRA funding allows for unprecedented opportunities to fund EQIP and CSP contract
applications, getting more conservation on the ground than ever before. These are traditional
EQIP and CSP practices that have received a funding boost from the IRA. IRA funds are
designed to support climate-smart mitigation activities and other conservation activities that
facilitate them. Examples of practices that can be funded include cover crops, residue
management, brush management, prescribed grazing, pasture and hay planting, wildlife
habitat planting, forest stand improvement and many more.
This funding not only helps producers accelerate their management and conservation goals
on their operations and improve the environment, but it also boosts local economies. Everydollar of EQIP and CSP funds implemented at the local level has an economic multiplier effect
of $4-6 dollars. As producers implement their EQIP and CSP contracts, they purchase
equipment and supplies and employ contractors to accomplish conservation practices such as
building a fence, creating a livestock pond, building a high tunnel and more. In short, this new
IRA funding provides agriculture producers an economic boost to help take care of their piece
of Texas and implement down to earth solutions that support agriculture and the environment.
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United States. Farm Service Agency. Texas State Office. FSA News - Lone Star State Edition: November 2023, periodical, November 22, 2023; College Station, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1633617/m1/3/: accessed May 21, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.