Farm Bill Progress Raises Conservation Funding Concerns in PA

A new federal farm bill is moving through Congress, and some growers say conservation programs need improvement—one being the Environmental Quality Incentives Program. Jason Oddo, a specialty farmer who runs ColdCo Farm in western Pennsylvania, says the program helped him install a high-tunnel greenhouse. However, the $10,000 cap barely covered half the cost, and farmers can only receive that support once…

“I think that the actual cost of the material is probably between $12,000 and $17,000 dollars and once you get into labor, it goes well over $20,000 for installing stuff. The program is meant to fund high tunnels for farmers; it barely pays for half of the central cost of putting them up.”