WWF's Saving Our Grasslands: Why They Matter, Why We Are Losing Them, and How We Can Save Them

Premiums, and has been shown to affect crop choice and production hence premium subsidies, are based practices and lead to conversion of highly erodible on the value of the insured crops and lands from pasture and grazing to crop production.16 would be greater if more acres were The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) insured and crop values were higher. [...] THE RFS This requirement would be based on rigorous and First, given the impacts of the RFS on land use and con- transparent accounting that includes emissions from version to date, EPA should end use of the aggregate combustion, production, transportation, and processing compliance approach to qualify for the program and of biomass; from direct and indirect land use change instead require validat. [...] Beyond fixing the programs role of crop insurance subsidies in fueling grassland The 2023 Farm Bill presents a unique opportunity conversion, the Farm Bill can provide critical invest- to incentivize grasslands conservation and res- ments to better protect and conserve grasslands via toration and to provide support for sustainable the expansion and strengthening of key conservation grazing, as des. [...] • Increase funding significantly for CTA so that NRCS • Direct NRCS to prioritize ranking and technical can hire more staff and build capacity to meet the support, within the 50 percent of total EQIP funding needs of today’s increasingly diverse farming and set aside for livestock operations at the national ranching populations and to address the conserva- level, for the adoption of advanced grazi. [...] Critical policy steps include the following: jected climate changes in the region include increasing • Reform the RFS to conform to the requirements of atmospheric CO2; a longer warming growing season; the original law and to require validation that lands and increased precipitation, likely received in more were in cultivation prior to 2007 to qualify for the frequent extreme events.