Arkansas could lose an estimated $665 million in funding if lawmakers follow through on rolling back the remaining Inflation Reduction Act funds.
Leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives have asked the Agriculture Committee to cut $230 billion through 2031, and cutting conversation funding for farmers could be a part of this.
Invest in Our Land, an organization that focuses on farmers and farm policy, is sharing an interactive map to reveal how much each state could lose if Congress decides to make the spending cuts.
The map was created according to an analysis of National Resources Conservation Service data conducted by Jonathan Coppess, director of the Gardner Agriculture Policy Program at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Coppess said this study has been part of an ongoing project since 2022, called the Policy Design Lab.
Arkansas stands to lose the second most funding nationwide, right behind Texas, which could lose $741 million.
Coppess was surprised to see where Arkansas ranked nationwide.
“I was a little bit surprised, particularly given all the partisan attacks on the program and the connection to climate change and the idea of climate-smart agriculture, so I was a little surprised with the way it was allocated,” Coppess said.
He hopes the study and the map teach people about the different types of farm funding.
Coppess wants the most recent map released to give people a sense of what farmers in the states get allocated and which practices are getting the most funding based on how funding operated in 2023 and 2024.
For Arkansas, the funding prediction breaks down to $142 million from the Conservation Stewardship Program, $266 million from the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, $161 million from the Regional Conservation Partnership Program and $95 million from the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program.
If some or all the funding gets cut, this could be detrimental to Arkansas farmers.
Jared Phillips of Branch Mountain Farm in Prairie Grove started farming vegetables about 10 years ago but later transitioned into livestock. He is also a food security and food systems historian, so he has been following the conversation about conservation and farming closely.
While he said the map is forecasting a future that may not happen, he said if cuts come it could be a “huge blow” for the economy.
He said it’s not just about conservation, but also about best business practices for farmers, noting his farm is more profitable since implementing conservation techniques. Funding cuts could also deter future farmers from starting farms, which could result in food security issues in the state and nation, he said.
“It’s not just conservation that is at stake here, but really food security of the nation,” Phillips said. “If we’re not willing to meaningfully invest in future thinking and forward facing strategies to manage our natural resources as well, then we will not be a food secure nation.”
Phillips encourages people to read the study and lobby to their lawmakers.
“It’s a big stay tuned question at this point,” Coppess said.
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