Page 136 - Inflation-Reduction-Act-Guidebook

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Funding Overview

The Inflation Reduction Act provides billions of dollars to USDA to invest in rural America,
partner with the agricultural sector to support sustainable and resilient food systems, and respond
to the climate challenge. Highlights include:

• $8.45 billion for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, which will provide
technical and financial assistance to producers to address natural resource concerns and
deliver environmental benefits, such as improving soil carbon and sequestering carbon
dioxide.

• $4.95 billion for the Regional Conservation Partnership Program, which will support
partner-driven conservation projects that help agricultural producers and nonindustrial
private forestland owners improve soil carbon, sequester carbon dioxide, or otherwise
reduce emissions.

• $3.25 billion for the Conservation Stewardship Program, which will offer technical
and financial assistance to compensate agricultural and forest producers who adopt
conservation practices.

• $3.1 billion to provide relief to distressed farm loan borrowers, many of whom have
been hard hit by market disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic or natural disasters
fueled by climate change. This assistance will help keep farmers on their land so they can
produce the food, fiber, and fuel the country needs. On October 18, 2022, USDA
provided nearly $800 million in assistance to distressed borrowers to cure delinquent
accounts and resolve loan debts for borrowers in foreclosure.

See the table on the next page for a full list of the programs summarized in this chapter.

B U IL D IN G A C L E A N E N E R G Y E C O N O MY 131
G U ID E B O O K | J AN UARY 20 2 3 | VE RS I O N 2