POLICY WATCH
Policy Development Guides Available Online
Having good information is critical in evaluating agriculture policy issues. There’s always more to the story and digging into the issues is important. Nebraska Farm Bureau has developed several Policy Development Guides as a resource for members looking for background information on higher profile agriculture issues to help them make informed recommendations as part of Farm Bureau’s policy development process.
Download or view the Policy Development Guides online.
Resolutions are due to Whittney by November 4.
Please email to whittneyk@nefb.org
Mail to NEFB, Attn: Whittney, PO Box 80299, Lincoln, NE 68501
Fax to (402) 421-4427
Policy Forum will be held November 17 at the Kearney Holiday Inn.
What’s in the Inflation Reduction Act for Agriculture?
Formerly known as the Build Back Better Act (BBBA), the budget reconciliation bill, after extensive negotiations and reworking, was finalized as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022, totaling roughly $770 billion. Since the budget reconciliation process was used, the bill only needed a simple majority in the Senate to pass, meaning it only needed 51 votes, rather that the 60 votes often needed to avoid procedural blocks. The Senate passed the bill on Sunday, Aug. 7, along a party-line 50-50 vote requiring Vice President Harris to cast the deciding, tie-breaking vote. The House passed the bill on Friday, Aug. 12, also along party lines, 220-207.
The final bill includes nearly $40 billion for agriculture, forestry and rural development. This includes nearly $20 billion in funding for the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP), Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), plus technical assistance. In addition, it includes $14 billion for rural development to support the development of renewable energy and spending on biofuels infrastructure. The bill also provides $4 billion to mitigate the impacts of drought in the Western Reclamation states, with priority given to the Colorado River Basin and other basins experiencing comparable levels of long-term drought.
This Market Intel article reviews the agriculture-related provisions that are included in the bill.
