"The tentative deal on the 2018 farm bill is likely to boost the Conservation Reserve Program at the price of other conservation initiatives, reflecting fiscal limitations and policy fights that shaped talks over that part of the five-year legislation.
Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) told reporters the deal — details of which remained unclear even to lawmakers while the Congressional Budget Office prepared cost estimates — appears to include provisions he's pushed on CRP, including allowing farmers to mechanically harvest a third of their set-aside acreage every year, typically planted with grass.
The tentative agreement reached among negotiators also appears nearly certain to increase the acreage cap on CRP — a goal sought to differing degrees by both the House and Senate versions of the farm bill, H.R. 2 — though lawmakers said they weren't sure what the final number would be. The program is currently limited to 24 million acres."
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