Partnering to Produce a Legacy

Remarks by Bruce I. Knight, Chief, Natural Resources Conservation Service, at National Association of Conservation Districts 60th Annual Meeting

Houston, Texas
January 31, 2006

Thank you, Billy (Wilson). I know we all appreciate the warm welcome from the folks in Texas who stepped forward to host this meeting in the wake of Katrina.

And there’s good news on the recovery from the storms: Secretary Johanns announced $2.8 billion in additional funds last week, bringing the USDA hurricane disaster assistance total to $4.5 billion.

I was in the New Orleans area last week. People in the hurricane areas should stay in our thoughts and prayers. If any of you have an opportunity to help in anyway—it is needed.

Before getting into what lies ahead, I want to speak for a few minutes about our conservation partnership—60 years of working together to help people help the land.

NACD and NRCS have a rich history of partnership. At the outset, USDA lawyer Phillip Glick worked with Assistant Secretary of Agriculture M.L. Wilson to draft the Standard State Soil Conservation Districts law.

It was clear almost from the beginning that the soil technicians in the Soil Erosion Service, which became the Soil Conservation Service, could not do the job alone. Our technical folks developed some great demonstration projects. But farmers lacked the equipment and the funds to put these conservation practices in place.
Wilson was determined to find a way to reach farmers and heal the land.

And he did. He understood and emphasized early on that erosion control benefited the entire country, but it started in the local community. He was convinced that it was appropriate—and necessary—for the public to help pay for conservation on private lands. M.L. Wilson envisioned a partnership between local units of government—the soil conservation districts—established by farmers and governed by supervisors they elected—and the corps of technical experts from SCS.

He foresaw the pivotal role local farmers would play in promoting conservation to their peers. He even wanted to use natural boundaries—watersheds—for the districts—so the watershed approach has been with us for a long, long time.

Wilson wanted to meld the expertise of SCS with local control and local commitment to stopping erosion. SCS was to provide technical expertise and some funding. The districts were to get the word out to farmers and find practical ways to help landowners establish effective conservation practices.

The idea made sense—to Congress and to state legislatures. States established districts, SCS shared expertise, and we began the partnership that has helped change the American landscape.

When I drive across the countryside and see filter strips, terraces, small wetlands
and windbreaks, I recognize the conservation signature on the land. But I also see how much remains to be done. I am gratified, as I know you are, at how fruitful our collaboration has been, over more than 60 years.

2005 Accomplishments

I want to turn now specifically to what we’ve accomplished in just the past year.

Through our work together, we’ve:
• Served nearly 100,000 farmers and ranchers
• Invested $3.3 billion in voluntary, incentive-based conservation
• Established a comprehensive policy and transparent allocation formula for Conservation Technical Assistance
• Expanded the new Conservation Security Program nationwide
• Written over 48,000 EQIP contracts
• Launched the Web Soil Survey to make soils data available 24/7 over the Internet
• Supported the President’s Wetlands Initiative to restore, create or enhance 3 million acres of wetlands by 2009 by restoring nearly 150,000 acreas of wetlands
• Helped with recovery from Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma
• Expanded the number of certified technical service providers to more than 2400, and
• Worked with more than 32,000 volunteers on the Earth Team who donated nearly 900,000 hours of service to increase conservation.

Cooperative Conservation

Another important effort that NRCS participated in last year was the White House Conference on Cooperative Conservation. It was a great opportunity to share different perspectives on conservation with folks from the agricultural conservation movement, wildlife conservationists, natural resource agency staff and representatives of land trust groups.

NRCS had the lead on 13 of the 37 success stories presented at the conference,
and we were involved in virtually all of the others. As partners, that means that conservation districts were also deeply involved in these projects as well.

Technology Advances

Some of the most exciting ventures we’re pursuing are on the forefront of technology. And it’s all available to anyone who can access the Internet.
Our new Web Soil Survey makes soil maps available to anyone at any time. And you can view NRCS ranking tools and program performance national and by state by accessing our website. In December, as part of the USDA Energy Strategy, we added an Energy Estimator that helps farmers determine how much money they can save by switching from conventional tillage to no-till.

They just need to plug in their zip code, their crops, and acreage , and the price they expect to pay for fuel. That was phase one. Soon we will be adding a similar tool to help farmers determine how much money they could save by switching from fossil fuel fertilizer to manure.

This is a practical, helpful tool that farmers can easily access and use. Maybe you’ve tried all of these web-based services. I hope you have and that you’ve encouraged the farmers you work with to use them. If not, I hope I’ve piqued your curiosity. If you’d like to know more, just stop by Room 342 this afternoon at 2:30, and we’ll give you a demonstration.

Grant Opportunities

Another way that we’re pushing forward on conservation technology is through our grant and partnership programs. This is a new opportunity for our partners. We recently announced $20 million for Conservation Innovation Grants opportunities in 2006.

This is a great way to test innovative conservation approaches and technologies
with a view toward sharing them with farmers and ranchers who could benefit.
The deadline for proposals is March 20.

Similarly, we have $4 million available under our Cooperative Conservation
Partnership Initiative with a deadline of March 7. Grants under CCPI go to state and local governments, districts, and agencies, Indian tribes and non-governmental organizations involved in agriculture. For 2006, we have a two-pronged focus: conservation priorities and rapid watershed assessments.

Two weeks ago, Deputy Secretary Conner announced funding decisions for two additional programs—$9.5 million for the Wetlands Reserve Program and $4 million for invasives in the Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative. These are excellent opportunities to take conservation to the next level. Please encourage your customers who might be interested to consider applying. Or, when appropriate, have your districts apply.

These forward-looking programs help bring precision conservation to our customers today and in the near future. More and more we’re going to be focusing on transferring cutting edge technology into the real world and encouraging our customers to use it.

Conservation Security Program

Today, Agriculture Secretary Johanns is announcing that the 2006 Conservation Security Program sign-up will be held February 13th to March 31st in 60 watersheds nationwide. This sign-up will bring to 280 watersheds covered by CSP across the United States.

We should all be very proud of our collective effort and
accomplishments achieved so far with CSP. We will need your help in delivering this exciting/cutting edge program

Budget

I want to be open and frank about where we stand as it pertains to the budget. We have to face honestly that NRCS’ budget peaked last year, under this farm bill.

As a nation, we know we have incurred a lot of obligations. Those debts need to be paid, and we’re going to have to do what’s necessary to reduce the deficit. That said, the 2006 budget is pretty much level. Since energy and other fixed costs continue to rise, with a level budget, we’ll be able to do a little less.

That means we’ll need to tighten up. We’re also adjusting our formulas to better focus on resource priorities. Some of you may have come from states where there are increases; some may be from states experiencing decreases. But remember, the bottom line is that we’ve been through a period of hefty increases.

Everyone in conservation is better off today than they were three or four years ago. We need to all be aware that in the future, there is likely to be greater variability in the NRCS budget, and in individual state and local budgets. We need to expect it and prepare for it. As priorities change, funding will change.

As we solve problems in one place, we need to direct resources to the next problem area. As we discussed with NRCS leadership two weeks ago, we’re taking some steps to manage a tight budget. We’re freezing vehicle purchases for one year. We’re strictly limiting major asset purchases. And we’re going to proceed very slowly on hiring.

Strategic Plan

As we look toward the future, we need to plan with tight budgets in mind. It’s clear we still have much more work to do together. Over the past year, we’ve been discussing with partners and among ourselves in NRCS where we need to go in the days, years and even decades ahead.

Our mission is simple and clear: helping people help the land.

But how do we envision doing that over the next 5, 10, 15 years? To answer that question, NRCS has a new strategic plan—a plan that you and other partners helped us develop. Our ultimate objective is productive lands and a healthy environment. To achieve that objective, we’re focusing on six goals—three foundation goals and three venture goals.

Our foundation goals cover traditional NRCS concerns:
• high quality, productive soils;
• clean and abundant water;
• and healthy plant and animal communities.

The venture goals focus on emerging resource concerns related to current economic and demographic trends. These include:
• air quality,
• an adequate energy supply and
• preserving working farms and ranch lands.

The plan also identifies three strategies we will use to address these concerns:
• cooperative conservation,
• a watershed approach and
• a market-based approach.

This plan is a solid blueprint that will drive us forward. At the same time,
there is sufficient flexibility in the plan to enable us to adjust to the inevitable changes that will occur and to recognize local priorities.

Market-Based Incentives

I am especially excited about the opportunities that are ahead of us with market-based incentives for conservation. We need to consider a wide variety of options for paying for and promoting good conservation practices. Taxpayer funds cannot, and should not, be the only way to finance conservation.

Market-oriented approaches to conservation can include:
• Using economic approaches, such as auctions and cap and trade
• Applying business practices, such as precision marketing or fostering customer loyalty
• Encouraging competitions, such as bidding for grants or offers to pay for a greater share of the cost
• Providing data to inform the conservation investment decisions of others
• Focusing on monetary and non-monetary incentives
• Implementing performance-based conservation—enhancement payments, and
• Fostering knowledge-based conservation

Even after the record funding provided by the 2002 farm bill, there is still so much more to be done. Increasingly, we’re going to be looking at some of these innovative approaches to getting conservation on the ground.

2007 Farm Bill

I want to turn now, just briefly, to the next farm bill. In the last half of 2005, Secretary Johanns and other top USDA officials held 53 listening sessions in 48 states to determine what our customers want to see in the 2007 farm bill. And conservation was clearly important to farmers and ranchers who shared their thoughts in those sessions.

In sharing his impressions of the forums, Secretary Johanns said, “We have also heard tremendous support for another of the President’s priorities—conservation.
Our cooperative conservation programs provide farmers and ranchers with financial support, while benefiting the whole of society by protecting our
natural resources today and for future generations.”

Clearly conservation will play an important role in whatever policies are ultimately incorporated in the 2007 farm bill. At the same time, we know we can always find ways to improve conservation—better integrating our programs, making them more transparent, ensuring that programs work for all producers, including limited resource and underserved farmers. We also know we need to emphasize results—preferably outcome-based measures, more than just miles of streams buffered or acres of land treated.

Value of Partnership

Whatever happens with the next farm bill, we know we can count on your partnership—both the leadership of NACD and the conservation districts.

I want you to know how much I value all that you do. You give your time freely and generously because you are committed to your communities’ natural resources.
You’ve caught the vision of conservation, and you’re living it out, leaving a legacy for those who will follow us.

wish I could thank each of you personally. You are a tremendous help to NRCS, especially in delivering the promise of the 2002 farm bill. And you are an incredible gift to America’s farmers and ranchers and our Nation’s natural resources. Thank you.

Conclusion

As we look ahead, it’s clear that conservation is changing, just as agriculture is changing. We’re helping people help the land in new and different ways. Thanks to technology, we’re able to make and implement more sophisticated land use decisions using the precise level of resources to make the optimum impact.

It’s been said that “change is the law of life, the only constant.” But even in the midst of change, some things remain the same: our commitment to preserving our natural resources and our ongoing partnership with NACD.

We share a unique and valuable partnership. But sixty years is only the beginning. We look forward to many more years of serving America’s farmers and ranchers
with you. Thank you.