United States Department of Agriculture
Natural Resources Conservation Service		 Plant Materials Program Go to Accessibility Information
Skip to Page Content

Plant Materials Program History

Updated 12/05/2007

The 1930s Dust Bowl taught us that plants play a critical role in the health of our environment.  At that time, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) created a number of Soil Conservation Nurseries throughout the country to grow and distribute plants for the stabilization of severely eroding lands.  Over the past 70 years, this need for conservation plants has grown into the present day Plant Materials Program.
 

A farmer inspects his wind-eroded fields in Colorado during the Dust Bowl. Photo Credit: NRCS, 1938
A farmer inspects his wind-eroded fields in Colorado during the Dust Bowl.   Photo Credit: NRCS, 1938

The program currently includes 27 Plant Materials Centers (PMCs) and associated Plant Materials Specialists located nationwide to service all 50 states and territories.

PMCs may be owned or operated by federal, state or local government, but most are owned and operated by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

PMCs and Plant Materials Specialists cooperate with an array of public and private conservation partners to select and produce improved plants for conservation.  They also develop and transfer the state-of-the-art technology necessary for successful conservation plantings that prevent soil erosion and improve air and water quality.

 


< Back to About Us