President Joe Biden has released the President’s Budget for Fiscal Year 2024, addressing several programs relevant to agriculture. The presidential budget lays out significant investments to support conservation efforts and other programs addressing climate change. The White House notes that the budget provides $7 billion for climate-related funding for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
“The President’s budget provides USDA with the tools needed to serve all Americans by providing effective, innovative science-based public policy leadership at home and around the world,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a press release. “It contains critical investments that will help rural communities provide the fuel, food, and fiber upon which our nation depends and will drive solutions that will lead to more market opportunities for producers.”
The budget includes $1.2 billion in continued support for conservation programs administered by USDA. Substantial funding for grants and loans to support energy efficiency improvements for farmers and rural businesses is also highlighted in the proposal. The budget calls for the provision of $32 billion to support Child Nutrition Programs, as well as continuing to fully fund SNAP and WIC programs.
Agricultural research is also highlighted as a priority in the budget, with $4 billion for ag research, education, and outreach. That includes $370 million to specifically support historically underserved groups. A total of $612 million would be allocated for climate-related research and development activities from USDA. The proposal also denotes investments to promote product innovation through improvements to the regulatory review process.
The presidential budget also seeks to improve funding support for farmers navigating climate challenges. A total of $1.2 billion would be used by USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service to help increase conservation adoption and farm income. Also included in the budget is incentives for cover cropping and making improvements to soil organic matter.
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