New $500M USDA funding for land protection

Sep 05, 2024
By Farms.com

2025 Conservation efforts bolstered by act

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced a pivotal investment for the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) for the fiscal year 2025.

Supported by the Inflation Reduction Act, this funding aims to enhance the conservation of environmentally significant agricultural lands, grasslands, and wetlands.

Administered by the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, the ACEP will use the $500 million allocation to protect lands prone to conversion to non-conservation uses. This strategic funding is crucial for maintaining the ecological benefits provided by these lands, including carbon sequestration and natural resource conservation.

Landowners and other stakeholders are encouraged to engage with this program, with application deadlines for the upcoming funding cycles set for October and December 2024. This initiative not only supports the direct conservation efforts but also aligns with broader climate goals by preserving vital ecosystems.

The investment complements previous efforts under the Inflation Reduction Act, which added $1.4 billion over five years to the ACEP, reflecting a robust federal commitment to combating climate change through sustainable land management practices.

This enhancement of the ACEP is also a key component of the Justice40 Initiative, ensuring that the benefits of federal environmental investments reach communities most in need.

With these funds, the USDA continues to streamline processes to maximize the impact and efficiency of conservation efforts across the United States.

Video: Learning to Wrench From Dad the Hard Way

Harvest is a week out and the farm picked this week to fall apart. The truck needs a battery, the barn curtain's got a problem, and the corn and beans are telling us we're out of time to get it all fixed.

So it's a full day of wrenching. Tork supervises while I get the truck back running, then we're out at the hog barn where one rusted up part has the whole curtain system hung up. Ladder work, cable work, and a little dad-and-son disagreement about the right way to do it. We close it out walking the fields, shelling beans and checking corn, because whether everything's fixed or not, harvest starts when harvest starts.

Chapters: 00:00 Everything breaks the week before harvest 01:00 Tork supervises while I fix the truck 12:30 Out to the barn to find the curtain problem 14:30 One rusty part hung up the whole curtain 20:00 Running the curtain cable from the ladder 24:00 Walking the beans and corn before harvest 26:30 Wrapping up

We're a 6th generation family farm in southeast Iowa showing the real ups and downs of pig farming and row crop farming. No script, just the work. Subscribe and follow along.

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