NEW ORLEANS — The U.S. Department of Agriculture is making an additional $850 million in funding available to farmers and forest owners nationwide this year to help adopt and implement conservation programs, according to a press release from the USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service.

The funds are part of $19.5 billion approved by Congress as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law last fall by President Joe Biden. The funds will help additional farmers and foresters participate in already heavily subscribed conservation programs, the press release said.

“The Inflation Reduction act provided a once-in-a-generation investment in conservation on working lands, and we want to work with agriculture and forest landowners to invest in climate-smart practices that create value and economic opportunity for producers,” said USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, who was in New Orleans on Tuesday to speak to the National Association of Conservation Districts annual meeting, according to the press release.

For more information of the particular NRCS programs that are receiving additional funding, or to apply, check out the NRCS Washington website at https://bit.ly/USDACBH.