Untapped Federal Funding Is Waiting for Farmers
Starting in 2025, I began work on a project with the Council of Producers and Distributors of Agrotechnology (CPDA) to find out how many farmers and/or their retail salespeople knew about potential opportunities for federal funding via the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) or the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). This was driven by new regulations for pesticide labels with new language around the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and compliance with these new labels.
I found that information and education around these federal programs is lacking.
Part of the project’s goal was to raise awareness throughout the CPDA network that their certified crop advisers (CCAs) can become technical service providers (TSPs) through the American Society of Agronomy (ASA) and USDA to help with conservation planning activities. In short, once a contract is funded and the local office has all its needs, all the follow-up and paperwork can happen through the farmer’s CCA/TSP, who will steward the contract through the next five years.
Ag retailers and consultants know their customers’ operations well and can help them access federal funding for practices that farmers already use on the farm or would like to add to their operations. My goal is to get the word out that funding is available through five-year farm bills, extensions of farm bills, or through reconciliation, as we saw in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
What is available, and how does this process work?
In my area of Illinois, in corn and soybean production, we have conservation tillage through practices called NRCS 329 and 345. Conservation tillage, via reduced-till (345) or no-till (329), conserves soil and water and has been a staple practice in our area for controlling soil loss and improving soil quality and health.
We also have producers who cover crop or have considered cover cropping, which is NRCS 340. Cover crops not only provide soil conservation benefits, but they also help control weeds, including waterhemp.
Many farmers are grid sampling their fields for nutrient values. Grid sampling fulfills part of the requirement of NRCS 590 (nutrient management). A lot of these fields have variable rate phosphorus and potassium applied, allowing us to maintain or skip application in areas with high values, while applying maintenance and build-up rates in areas with lower values.
Now for my favorite practice, pest management (NRCS 595). I have watched technology grow in this area since my graduate school days at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Pest management acres capped out at over one million acres in 2007 and have since dropped to around 82,000 acres in 2025. Today’s new technology can help get these acres back up again.
When I talk about new technology, I look to the best drift control adjuvants, which continue to improve every year. These products help keep pesticides in place whether applied by ground or air. Combine these great adjuvants with new sprayer technology, like the AIM Command system or the Exact Apply system, and we have a winner! See & Spray technology is also reducing pesticide usage by applying to the target only.
There is no better time to apply for additional funding for this type of practice. For farmers already enrolled in a CSP or EQIP program, this can be a great add-on or enhancement to a current contract, or even a way to qualify for a new one.
What are the steps?
Farmers routinely visit their Farm Service Agency (FSA). I encourage farmers to seek out the NRCS in that same building and talk with the NRCS conservationist on the next visit. The Illinois Soybean Association created this guide for what farmers need to know before talking with the NRCS conservationist. Farmers are eligible if they can answer “yes” to four questions:
- Do you own or rent and actively manage the acres you want to enroll?
- Is your land in compliance with wetland and highly erodible land requirements?
- Is your adjusted gross income (AGI) less than $900,000?
- Are your records with the FSA up to date?
The NRCS will review the entire farm operations and identify resource concerns. Additional concerns specific to a farmer’s area may also be eligible for funding. An NRCS-CPA-1200 application form will be filled out, which can be completed prior to the next office visit.
Farmers should expect additional conversations with the NRCS staff or TSP to create a plan suitable for their operation. Keep in mind that only a certain amount of financial assistance applications will be funded, and it can be a competitive process. Priority for funding typically goes to plans that address the greatest number of resource concerns. Applications are accepted year-round, but NRCS deadlines vary by geography, so farmers should check locally.
If a farmer’s conservation plan is selected, it will move into an implementation phase, where the farmer can either hand off the plan to the local TSP or continue working with the local NRCS office. Farmers will pay expenses up front but will receive the financial assistance payments after completion each year. Payment rates vary by state for each practice.
Payments can be as high as $40,000 per year or up to $200,000 over a five-year contract, depending on the size of the operation and the practices selected. NRCS has identified 17 primary resource concerns, and by law each state must focus on at least five of these each year. As mentioned earlier for western Illinois, a farmer must address two concerns on their farm and agree to add one more. The more a farmer addresses, the better the chances for a successful application.
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