Arkansas Could Lose $665M in Conservation Funding Under Proposed USDA Cuts

The U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. (Shutterstock)

Amid massive proposed cuts in federal spending, researchers are projecting that Arkansas could lose hundred of millions of dollars in conservation funding.

A budget plan released by the U.S. House of Representatives in February calls for $230 billion in U.S. Department of Agriculture funding cuts through 2031. Jonathan Coppess, director of the Gardner Agriculture Policy Program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, said he thinks it’s likely conservation funding will take a hit.

Coppess said Arkansas could lose up to $665 million in conservation funding, per an analysis of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Inflation Reduction Act and farm bill data.

Read more from Arkansas Business‘ sister publication Greenhead magazine.