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Soil Quality Management

Organic Agriculture and Resource Conservation

What Organic Growers Need to Know about NRCS and Conservation Programs

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) assists owners of America's private land with conserving their soil, water, and other natural resources. NRCS services are available to all land managers, including organic growers. Here are some questions and answers to help you understand NRCS terminology and services.

  1. What is the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)?
  2. How does NRCS promote resource conservation?
  3. What are Conservation Districts and how do I find mine?
  4. What is in the Farm Bill?
  5. What are conservation programs?
  6. Which programs are organic farmers eligible for?
  7. Do certified organic producers automatically qualify for participation in CSP and other conservation programs?
  8. How do I get approved for a program?
  9. Who writes the rules for the programs and how can I influence the rules?
  10. Do I have to enroll my whole farm?
  11. Can I get technical assistance without enrolling in a program?
  12. What are Technical Service Providers?
  13. What are resource concerns, conservation practices, and quality criteria?

1. What is the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)?

The NRCS is an agency within the US Department of Agriculture whose mission is to provide leadership in a partnership effort to help people conserve, maintain, and improve the nation's natural resources and environment.

Learn more about the NRCS
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2. How does NRCS promote resource conservation?

NRCS delivers technical assistance to land owners based on sound science and suited to a customer's specific needs. NRCS administers federal conservation programs that provide cost shares and financial incentives in some cases. Participation in NRCS programs is voluntary. This work is only possible through the cooperation of many partners, especially local conservation districts.

More about NRCS partners
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3. What are Conservation Districts and how do I find mine?

Conservation Districts are local units of government responsible for soil and water conservation work within their boundaries. Almost every county in the nation, and the Caribbean and Pacific Basin are served by local Conservation Districts. The districts' role is to increase voluntary conservation practices among farmers, ranchers, and other land users. Typically, districts are staffed by one or more county and NRCS (federal) employees. District staff provide technical and financial assistance to help land managers apply conservation practices, they implement resource conservation demonstrations and projects, and they provide general education to the public about soil and water conservation.

To find your local office, go to the USDA Service Center locator.
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4. What is in the Farm Bill?

The 2002 Farm Bill addresses a wide variety of programs including nutrition programs, commodity support, research, energy efficiency and alternatives, agricultural trade, rural development, and conservation. The conservation programs (Title II of the Farm Bill) support resource conservation on farms, ranches, and other private lands.

The most recent Farm Bill was signed into law May 2002. The actual level of funding appropriated to pay for the Farm Bill was determined in a subsequent budget bill. After that, general rules for programs were written at the national level. Finally, states wrote specific rules, which are revised annually.

For more information about the whole Farm Bill, see the USDA Farm Bill page.
For more information about conservation components of the Farm Bill, see the NRCS Farm Bill page.
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5. What are conservation programs?

NRCS accomplishes many of its conservation goals by administering programs created by the Farm Bill. These voluntary programs provide financial incentives to land managers. Some programs pay incentives if land owners retire land from production. Other programs support conservation practices on lands that remain in production, i.e., "working lands". Land retirement programs include the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP), and Grasslands Reserve Program (GRP). Working lands programs include the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP), Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), Conservation Security Program (CSP), Farmland Protection Program (FPP), and Forest Land Enhancement Program (FLEP).

Payments through programs may be provided 1) annually, based on the number of acres enrolled, 2) as one-time payments based on the practice installed, or 3) as a cost share based on the cost of installing the practice.

Conservation programs are meant to support resource benefits, not primarily to support production or farm income.

Learn more about conservation programs.
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6. Which programs are organic farmers eligible for?

Organic producers may participate in any of the Farm Bill programs. The purpose of the conservation programs is to benefit natural resource conservation, not to support specific farming systems. Organic systems are compatible with many resource-friendly practices. 

To help protect farmland from urban encroachment, consider the Farmland Protection Program (FPP). For land that you want to take out of production, look at land retirement programs (CRP, WRP, GRP). To support specific land management practices on "working lands," see WHIP, EQIP, FLEP.

Click here to learn more about these conservation programs.

Most of these programs provide financial incentives to install and maintain conservation practices that are new to a piece of land. In contrast, the Conservation Security Program (CSP) will pay farmers for the level of resource conservation they are practicing regardless of when the practices were first installed. CSP is a new program in the 2002 Farm Bill and will take time to become fully implemented.

Some programs may allow higher rates of cost-share assistance for beginning or small and limited resource farmers and ranchers. "Beginning farmers" are those that have been farming for less than 10 years. "Small and limited resource farmers" are defined based on their gross sales and household income.

Organic growers may also be interested in the Resource Conservation and Development Program for help with community projects. The objectives of the RC&D program focus on improvement of quality of life achieved through natural resources conservation and community development which leads to sustainable communities, prudent use (development), and the management and conservation of natural resources. 

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7. Do certified organic producers automatically qualify for participation in CSP and other conservation programs?

No. Although organic production practices address some resource concerns, other resource concerns are not addressed by a certified organic farm plan. A conservation plan must also be developed.

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8. How do I get approved for a program?

Conservation programs are generally competitive rather than entitlement programs. Each state has a limited amount of funds to disperse annually and they typically receive applications for many times the allocated amount.

First, you must submit an application and meet the eligibility requirements for the particular program. Then, all eligible applications are ranked based on merit. To determine merit, each proposal receives points for meeting specific natural resource criteria. Proposals are accepted from the top of the ranking list until all available money is allocated.

The point system for ranking proposals is determined based on local resource needs and conservation priorities. The scoring system evaluates the environmental benefits being achieved and the cost effectiveness of each project. Information on your state's eligibility requirements and scoring system can be obtained prior to submitting an application. For more information, contact your state NRCS office or local Conservation District.

To participate in most programs, you must address conservation issues on your whole farm. This process should be familiar to organic producers who already do whole farm planning. A conservation plan must address erosion control, nutrient and pest management, and any other resource concerns relevant to the site.

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9. Who writes the rules for the programs and how can I influence the rules?

The federal government writes general rules for the farm programs. Then State Technical Committees, with input from Local Work Groups, write the specific rules that determine which resource issues receive priority. Every state has somewhat different rules.

Any interested state citizen may join the State Technical Committee or Local Work Groups. Organic growers may choose to have representatives participate in this process.

For more information, contact your state NRCS office or local Conservation District.

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10. Do I have to enroll my whole farm?

No.

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11. Can I get technical assistance without enrolling in a program?

Yes. Programs are just one tool to accomplish NRCS' primary mission -- which is to help land managers improve the Nation's natural resources. NRCS provides technical assistance and helps land owners do whole-farm conservation planning. Technical assistance does not have to be tied to program participation.

Conservation planning is a process that considers a full range of integrated resource concerns--soil, water, air, plants, animals, and humans--or "SWAPA+H."

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12. What are Technical Service Providers?

The most recent Farm Bill substantially increased the amount of money dedicated to conservation programs. Rather than hire more federal employees to help administer these programs, NRCS will certify individuals, entities, or public agencies to provide technical services to program participants or the Department. These certified people are  called Technical Service Providers, also known as Tech Pros or TSPs.

To find out more about becoming or using a Technical Service Provider, go to TechReg.

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13. What are "resource concerns," "conservation practices," and "quality criteria"?

Resource concerns are the condition of the natural resources that may be sensitive to change by natural forces and human activity. Concerns are identified by predictive models, direct measurements, observation, or client objectives. Examples of resource concerns are water quantity, water quality, soil erosion, soil quality, air quality, animal management, and plant suitability.

Conservation practice standards describe the purpose and minimum quality criteria for over 150 specific practices such as Aquaculture Ponds, Channel Stabilization, Pest Management, and Residue Management.

Quality criteria establish the minimum treatment level necessary to adequately address identified resource concerns for a particular land area. These criteria are established in the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Field Office Technical Guide.

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