Equity in Conservation Funding for Agricultural Producers in the U.S.

Keywords: EQIP, conservation, agriculture
Abstract Type: Poster Abstract

Abstract

This study examines the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and how the funding it provides is distributed according to geographic location, conservation practice type, and producer demographics. EQIP allows participating producers to continue to cultivate and profit from their land, while offering monetary support for a wide array of over a hundred different conservation practices. This study has a particular emphasis on investigating how the nature of EQIP contracts might vary depending on a producers' race or ethnicity, and determining whether there are issues of inequity within the program's funding records. Agricultural producers of all kinds are facing a range of burdens as the price of farmland continues to rise, the agricultural system further consolidates, and the financial risk involved for those operating small landholdings rises. While all farmers face impending hardship, the challenges for farmers of color and other historically underserved groups are compounded by historically having agricultural aid and resources withheld from them. Some efforts have been made to improve equity in USDA programs, but vigilance in identifying areas of potential inequity remains important, both to hold the USDA accountable and to identify where additional improvements can be made. This work will contribute to that effort by investigating this under-studied program in its funding rate and conservation practices as they differ for producers of different social and racial backgrounds.