The U.S. Division of Agriculture’s (USDA) “climate-smart” packages are sometimes climate-neutral, and in some circumstances climate-negative, in response to a brand new report.

Of $5.5 billion despatched to farmers through one in all USDA’s foremost environmental packages between 2017 and 2022, solely $1.7 billion — 31 % — funded practices on the division’s official climate-smart checklist, in response to the Environmental Working Group (EWG). Of the highest 10 practices funded by that program in 2023, solely two had been on the climate-smart checklist, the non-profit group mentioned.

“A lot of the [remaining] $3.8 billion in funding went to structural practices like fencing, different livestock practices and irrigation practices,” mentioned Anne Schechinger, EWG’s Midwest director.

USDA’s Environmental High quality Incentives Program (EQIP) is without doubt one of the division’s largest conservation subsidy packages. It supplies funding for a variety of actions on a “climate-smart” checklist, together with cowl crops that shield soil and enhance its fertility, no-till soil routines and wetland restoration. EQIP is vital as a result of 10.6 % of the US’s whole greenhouse emissions in 2023 got here from agriculture, in response to USDA.

However in 2023 and 2024, 14 “provisional” practices had been added to the climate-smart checklist. “Provisional practices are added to the checklist ‘provisionally’ as a result of USDA doesn’t have any knowledge/quantification to point out that they really scale back emissions,” mentioned Schechinger. 

A type of practices is waste storage, particularly the development of manure lagoons. Waste accounts for 11 % of U.S. agricultural emissions, and manure lagoons launch massive quantities of nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gasoline. Manure additionally usually pollutes streams, consuming water and groundwater.

This isn’t the primary time EQIP has come beneath hearth. “EQIP particularly pays for agricultural practices that aren’t environmentally helpful or in some circumstances actively make the atmosphere worse,” in response to a report by the Institute for Agriculture and Commerce Coverage revealed in 2022.

Ten practices funded by EQIP had been “industrial” or “factory-farm pleasant,” in response to that report, which additionally cited waste storage services as an issue.

A spokesperson for USDA referred to as EWG’s analysis “basically flawed.” 

“Sadly, EWG didn’t consider the rigorous, science-based methodology utilized by USDA to find out eligible practices, not the extent of specificity required throughout the implementation course of to make sure the practices’ climate-smart advantages are being maximized,” USDA spokesperson Allan Rodriguez informed GreenBiz.