A recently released U.S. House farm bill proposal underinvests in proven solutions farmers rely on to cut fertilizer waste, protect drinking water and reduce climate pollution, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).

With mounting financial pressures on farmers, lawmakers should instead help ease their operating costs by providing greater support for conservation programs that reduce fertilizer use. They can do this on February 23 when the House Agriculture Committee begins markup of the proposed legislation.

A new UCS report, “Less Fertilizer, Better Outcomes,” finds that of the approximately 780,000 metric tons of nitrogen fertilizer used by Iowa corn and soybean producers each year, an estimated 230,000 to 390,000 metric tons are applied in excess of what crops can absorb. That wasted fertilizer contaminates waterways and groundwater and emits heat-trapping gases equivalent to between 600,000 and 900,000 gas-powered cars driven for a year.

While the proposed farm bill notably prioritizes carbon sequestration and soil health research, it fails to adequately invest in U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) conservation programs that help farmers reduce fertilizer overuse through effective, science-informed approaches such as nutrient management planning. Instead, the proposed bill diverts dollars toward high-cost precision agriculture technologies that can deepen farmer debt and dependence on large agribusiness firms. Precision agriculture has been called a “false solution” because it disproportionately favors large, capital-intensive operations while sidelining small and mid-sized farms and more climate-resilient systems.

Fertilizer is often one of the largest single expenses in a farm operating budget, and overapplication means farmers are paying for inputs that reduce their profits, cause environmental damages, and don’t improve crop yields.

“The farm bill should help farmers cut waste and protect their bottom line,” said Dr. Omanjana Goswami, UCS interdisciplinary scientist and report co-author. “Instead, this proposal weakens the programs that help producers adopt smarter nutrient management, leaving farmers paying more and communities bearing the burden of polluted water and increased climate risk.”

Agriculture is the nation’s largest human-caused source of heat-trapping nitrous oxide–a super-pollutant gas released when excess synthetic nitrogen fertilizer breaks down in soils, harming human health and accelerating climate change.

In Iowa, demand for conservation assistance far outstrips available funding. As a result, Iowa’s limited conservation funding is often steered toward livestock practices and infrastructure–with only a tiny fraction going toward fertilizer-focused nutrient management even though Iowa has one of the largest fertilizer footprints in the country. And USDA funding isn’t the whole story: state policy, private-sector agronomy incentives, and market pressures also shape on-farm fertilizer decisions, but federal conservation dollars are one of the clearest levers Congress can use to solve the problem of overuse.

“The rising rates of nitrogen fertilizer use have costly consequences for the health of people, our economy, and our environment,” said Dr. Precious Tshabalala, an economist with the UCS Food and Environment Program and report co-author. “Applying twice as much synthetic fertilizer as necessary spews polluting emissions that further heat the climate and endanger drinking water in rural communities.”

As an illustrative example in the new report, UCS modeled outcomes from increased support for the USDA’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). The report notes that producers implementing the programs’ nutrient management practices can save about $30 per acre on fertilizer costs, and it presents modeled economic benefits for rural communities from increased conservation investments.

UCS is urging lawmakers to strengthen farm bill provisions that expand access to EQIP and CSP and prioritize practices that reduce fertilizer overuse and improve soil health.

“If more farmers can gain access to federal conservation resources and reduce their reliance on synthetic fertilizers, it will help to build a more sustainable, healthy, and resilient agricultural system,” said Dr. Goswami.

The Union of Concerned Scientists puts rigorous, independent science to work to solve our planet’s most pressing problems. Joining with people across the country, we combine technical analysis and effective advocacy to create innovative, practical solutions for a healthy, safe, and sustainable future. For more information, go to www.ucs.org.