Farm Bill Passes Congress

U.S. Congress has passed the $867 million Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, also known as the “farm bill.” President Trump has signed the bill into law after it passed both houses with broad bipartisan support.

During the nearly 2-year drafting process for the legislation, the Water Environment Federation (WEF; Alexandria, Va.) has urged Congress to support funding for the bill and its programs. In May 2018, WEF and other members of the water sector sent a letter to the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee asking to preserve Title II Conservation funding in the bill. Title II provides additional incentives to farmers who employ practices that benefit source waters.

The bill provided funding increases and programmatic improvements to the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program and Regional Conservation Partnership Program. WEF urged Congress to support these programs.