Poll Reveals Farmer Support for Conservation Program Funding

A poll of more than 500 farmers by the National Wildlife Federation found that three out of four producers support an increase in long-term funding for USDA’s voluntary conservation programs. Nearly three-quarters of producers, 73%, report that USDA conservation programs help improve their bottom line, reduce input costs, and modernize their operation. Among first-generation farmers, that number jumps to 90%. In addition, more than three-quarters of producers (78%) support increased funding for a voluntary, incentive-based program that would help farmers and ranchers conserve grasslands, and 67% of producers support increasing the acres available in the Conservation Reserve Program. A publication on the results of the poll is available online.