The Department of Agriculture's federal conservation programs are the single largest investment of taxpayer dollars in agricultural conservation. These programs pay farmers to adopt practices with environmental, climate and public health benefits. Five of the most prominent programs paid farmers over $31 billion between 2017 and 2024 alone.
Used wisely, these program investments can help protect public health, improve wildlife habitat and biodiversity, reduce agricultural pollution to the environment, decrease agriculture’s greenhouse gas contributions to climate change and make farms more resilient to extreme weather.
But there is also room for reform. Some of the practices that receive the most funding through these programs provide few environmental, public health or climate benefits.
EWG’s Conservation Database provides a detailed look at how federal dollars were spent through the main USDA conservation programs, from fiscal years 2017 through 2024.
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