Emergency Conservation Program Improvement Act of 2025

What this does

This bill lets farmers and forest owners get paid up front for disaster recovery work instead of waiting until it is done. It amends the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978. Under the emergency conservation program, a producer may choose to receive an advance of up to 75 percent of a payment for replacing or rehabilitating farmland or a farm or conservation structure, and up to 50 percent for repairs, each based on fair market value as determined by the Secretary. The bill also clarifies that a qualifying wildfire includes one that was not caused naturally, including a fire caused by the Federal Government, if the damage came from the fire's spread due to natural causes. For the emergency forest restoration program, an owner of nonindustrial private forest land may choose to receive an advance of up to 75 percent of the cost of emergency measures before carrying them out. Advance funds that are not spent within 180 days must be returned.