Letter to the Hon. Pat Roberts, Chairman of the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, the Hon. Michael Conaway, Chairman of the Committee on Agriculture, the Hon. Debbie Stabenow, Ranking Member of the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, and the Hon. Collin Peterson, Ranking member of the Committee on Agriculture - Sens. Carper, Coons, Rep. Blunt Rochester Urge Farm Bill Negotiators to Ensure New Poultry Farmers Can Access Conservation Funds

Letter

Dear Chairman Roberts, Chairman Conaway, Ranking Member Stabenow, and Ranking Member Peterson:

As you continue negotiating a final 2018 Farm Bill conference report, we write to urge you to maintain a provision related to the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) in Section 2301(2)(A) of the Senate amendment to H.R. 2. The State of Delaware is home to a vibrant and thriving poultry industry. Many of our farmers utilize EQIP cost share assistance for best management practices that benefit the environment, including manure storage and composting facilities. As we have all visited with poultry growers in our state, we have heard a common problem that is resolved by this provision in the Senate Farm Bill.

According to the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), farmers can only apply for EQIP funds when they have an "existing resource concern." What this means, in practice, is that poultry growers cannot access EQIP funds until they have birds on their farms. This period of time when farmers have birds on their farms but do not have adequate manure management facilities creates environmental and biosecurity challenges and undercuts the mission of EQIP.

Through our conversations with affected farmers, we have been able to identify a solution to this problem. Rather than requiring farmers to have an "existing resource concern," our proposed solution is to have EQIP provide funding for "identified, new, or expected resource concerns." We believe that the current situation our farmers find themselves in is simply an unintended consequence of previous EQIP language, and that this provision represents a commonsense solution that provides a win for both farmers and the environment.

We are thankful to our Senate colleagues for including this language in the Senate Farm Bill and urge you to maintain it in the final 2018 Farm Bill conference report.

Sincerely,

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