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4.10. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) assists producers in reducing GHG emissions, enhancing carbon sequestration, and adapting to a changing climate. It released an Action Plan for Climate Adaptation and Resilience, a framework to prepare farmers, ranchers, and land managers for current and anticipated impacts of climate change, in October 2021. The USDA operates a network of Regional Climate Hubs that links its research and program agencies. Their aim is to facilitate climate-informed decision-making and direct stakeholders towards resources needed to implement such decisions.

4.25. In 2020, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Risk Management Agency introduced the Hurricane Insurance Protection – Wind Index (HIP-WI) endorsement. Sustained hurricane-force winds, as determined by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), are the only cause of loss for HIP-WI. Producers must have an underlying insurance policy; the endorsement covers a part of a producer's deductible in their underlying policy. HIP-WI is available in coastal areas in the South and East of the United States, as well as in Hawaii, and covers some 70 commodities.

4.41. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) FSA administers various programs that address conservation issues such as the protection of drinking water, preservation of wildlife habitats, reduced soil erosion, preservation and restoration of forests and wetlands, and assistance to farmers facing damage from natural disasters. The 2018 Farm Act reauthorized the principal land retirement program, i.e. the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). The program offers an annual rent to farmers who remove environmentally sensitive land from agricultural production and plant species that improve environmental quality. Although benefits per participant were reduced, the CRP was allowed to expand from a maximum of 24 million acres in FY2019 to 27 million acres in FY2023. CRP contracts normally run for 10 to 15 years, although longer contracts (30 years) may be available in certain cases. The CRP was also made more flexible for grazing and commercial uses, as well as for the transitioning of CRP land for new and limited resource producers. Other conservation programs include the ACEP; the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, an offshoot of CRP; the Emergency Conservation Program; the Farmable Wetlands Program; the Grassland Reserve Program; and the Source Water Protection Program.

4.42. Working lands programs, which assist farmers in improving land management practices, are administered by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service, and cover a wide variety of issues. The two main working lands programs – the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) – were reauthorized through the 2018 Farm Act, with funding increased for EQIP but reduced for CSP.

4.43. The Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) compensates enrolled agricultural producers for natural disaster damage to crops where crop insurance is not available. The 2018 Farm Act amended NAP to allow NAP eligibility for crops that may be covered by crop insurance, but only under whole farm or weather index policies. The payment calculation was modified to consider the producer's share of the crop, service fees were raised, and payment limits (per producer) were introduced for catastrophic (USD 125,000) and buy-up (USD 300,000) coverage.

4.44. The 2017 Wildfires and Hurricanes Indemnity Program (WHIP), authorized under the Bipartisan Budget Act, provided compensation to agricultural producers for necessary expenses related to crop, tree, vine, and bush losses caused by a series of hurricanes and wildfires in 2017. (...)

4.54. (...) The Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) announced in April 2020 (...). to be eligible for payments, the producer had to have either average gross income of less than USD 900,000 in the tax years 2016, 2017, and 2018 or derive at least 75% of their adjusted gross income from farming, ranching, or forestry. [32] (...)
[32] Recipients would also have to comply with provisions of the "Highly Erodible Land and Wetland Conservation" regulations and not have a controlled substance violation. Recipients that were foreign persons, needed to provide land, capital, and a substantial amount of active personal labor to the farming operation.

4.58. Flexibilities introduced in response to the COVID 19 pandemic included broadened use of the Disaster Set-Aside loan provision, normally used in the wake of natural disasters, by the USDA FSA. Borrowers under the Farm Storage Facility Loan program were given a one-time option to defer the annual instalment payment. (...)

4.65. (...) The USMCA [United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement] expands market access for some commodities relative to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and provides for new rules governing agricultural biotechnology and SPS measures. The United States has organic equivalence arrangements with Canada, Chinese Taipei, the European Union, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and Switzerland. (...)

4.69. (...) Voluntary conservation programs appear to be effective in addressing soil erosion and water pollution but could be better leveraged to improve natural hazard risks management ex ante and more resilient recovery in the aftermath of disasters. It will also be important for the United States to ensure that the recent resort to ad hoc support against market shocks and natural disasters does not become entrenched. Finally, the resolution of current trade uncertainties would ease farmers' pursuit of market opportunities.