An Inflation Question Not Asked: What About Conservation?

The House Agriculture Committee is scheduled to markup its version of the Farm Bill on Thursday, May 23, 2024 (House Agriculture Committee). The recent period of relatively high inflation and concerns about its impacts on production costs for farmers have occupied center stage in discussions about policy priorities. That discussion, however, has been narrow and one-dimensional, largely limited to increasing the reference prices in farm payment programs. For example, inflation for all farmers does not explain the significant differences in crop-by-crop reference price increases and the vast differences in payments among farmers in different regions (farmdoc daily, May 21, 2024; May 16, 2024; May 14, 2024; House Agriculture Committee, Farm Bill; Senate ANF Committee, May 1, 2024; see also, USDA-ERS, February 7, 2024). Among other things, this narrowed perspective—that only crop prices matter and that some farmers in some regions matter more than others—ignores the impact that inflation has on conservation assistance to farmers, as well as the consequences for farmers who adopt conservation practices. This article initiates a discussion of the inflation question not asked in farm policy debates, exploring the impacts of inflation on conservation costs and assistance.