NW Conservation Projects & Shorting Agriculture

NW Conservation Projects & Shorting Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report.

Up to $720 million is being directed towards 84 conservation projects that will help communities improve water quality, combat drought, enhance soil health, support wildlife habitat and protect agricultural viability. These projects make up the second round of the Regional Conservation Partnership Program created by the 2014 Farm Bill. Seven of those projects are slated for here in the region, 3 in Idaho and 2 each in Oregon and Washington. Water quality and drought are dominant themes in this year's RCPP project list with 45 of the 84 projects focusing on water resource concerns.

The President's 2017 budget proposal has shorted agriculture by about $1.1 billion from last year. The new budget is also proposing to cut $18 billion from the federal crop insurance programs over 10 years. American Farm Bureau's RJ Karney says House and Senate budget leaders already declared the proposal dead on arrival but the proposal still sets the budget foundation for Congress.

KARNEY: This will not put a nail in the coffin in the budgetary process. Both the House and Senate are looking to write and complete a budget resolution and the appropriation committees have already issued a schedule for the appropriations process, so AFBF will now be turning its attention towards Congress so we can make sure that American agriculture is represented in the budget discussions and also through the appropriations process.

That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network of the West.