07.17.23

Hoeven Outlines Efforts to Ensure Farm Bill Conservation Programs are Farmer-Friendly

Senator Highlights Voluntary, Locally-Led Partnerships at National Association of Conservation Districts Summer Meeting

BISMARCK, N.D. – At the National Association of Conservation Districts summer meeting today, Senator John Hoeven outlined his efforts as a senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee to ensure conservation programs are farmer-friendly as work continues on the next farm bill. In particular, Hoeven stressed the importance of supporting programs that focus on voluntary, locally-led partnerships, like the:

  • Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), which provides cost-share assistance to producers to plan and install individual conservation practices to address natural resource problems.
  • Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), which supports partnership agreements with local entities, providing financial and technical assistance for statewide, multistate, or watershed-scale conservation projects 

In addition, as the ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee, Hoeven works to ensure programs like these receive strong support in annual funding legislation, while pushing back on costly, heavy-handed regulations.

“Our farmers and ranchers know their land and water best, and our efforts are about empowering them to improve soil health, water quality, wildlife habitat and agricultural productivity,” said Hoeven. “The last thing our ag producers need are burdensome, one-size-fits-all mandates that would drive up their costs, hurting both their operations and consumers. That’s why we continue to prioritize voluntary, bottom-up programs that are farmer-friendly, helping to ensure better environmental stewardship while supporting Americans’ continued access to the highest-quality, lowest-cost food supply in the world.” 

Advancing ND Farm Bill Priorities

          Hoeven continues working to gather feedback from North Dakota farmers and ranchers, giving them the opportunity to provide direct input on the next farm bill and helping advance the following priorities to benefit the state’s producers:

  • Maintaining crop insurance, the primary risk management tool for many producers.
  • Updating and improving the counter-cyclical safety net, including the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs.
  • Ensuring support for U.S. sugar policy.
  • Improving transparency and competition in cattle markets.
  • Strengthening livestock disaster programs, including the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP), the Livestock Forage Program (LFP) and the Emergency Livestock Assistance Program (ELAP).