Computers for Districts

NACD's mission is to serve conservation districts by providing national leadership and a unified voice for natural resource conservation.

Computer workstations identical to those purchased under the USDA contract are available to conservation districts and RC&D Councils direct from the current USDA contractor, Government Acquisitions, Inc. A new district computer purchased through the USDA contractor may be made CCE compatible and connected to the USDA network without cost to the district.

March 2008 Conservation Partnership Computer Memo
Members of the conservation partnership released a joint memo and list of frequently asked questions in March 2008 regarding computer related issues for the conservation partnership. Click here to read a copy of the memo, or see the Frequently Asked Questions page for the most up-to-date information.

2008 Computer and Printer Catalog and Specifications

2008 Computer and Printer Order Form

Districts with computers on the Common Computing Environment receive the following benefits free of charge:

Access to most USDA developed or licensed software, including Microsoft Office programs, GIS software, Toolkit, engineering, conservation planning and reporting software;
Automatic updates and upgrades to programs and anti-virus software;
Daily backups;
Access to USDA-developed AgLearn courses (over 2,500 new online SkillSoft courses: IT End User Skills include courses in Microsoft, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access and more while Business Skills curricula include Project Management, Leadership, Time Management, Communication and more);
Access to the USDA help desk and USDA ITS staff for resolving hardware and software problems; and
Access to a high speed Internet connection.

Please contact your USDA ITS computer specialist with questions.

Specifications for computers purchased in previous years are available at http://www.sci.usda.gov/cce/desktop_mid.html.

Most districts that are not co-located with a USDA service center can have their compatible computers joined to the CCE network and utilize the benefits listed above using a VPN encrypted connection through a cable modem, DSL or other high speed Internet connection. Requests for use of a VPN connection is handled by your NRCS state office.