USDA Releases Interim Final Rule for Agricultural Management Assistance Program

Public Comment Period on Rule Ends January 20, 2009

Contact:  Douglas Zehner
              State Conservationist
              (860) 871-4011

December 9, 2008

TOLLAND, CONNECTICUT—The USDA, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is seeking public comments on the Agricultural Management Assistance (AMA) Program, amended in the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, or the 2008 Farm Bill, State Conservationist Douglas Zehner announced recently. Public comments may be submitted until January 20, 2009.

Changes to the AMA Program included the addition of one state—Hawaii—and mandatory program funding for the next four fiscal years. For the first time, mandatory funding is provided through the Farm Bill—$15 million for each fiscal year from 2008 through 2012. AMA, a voluntary, incentives-based program, which helps agricultural producers on private land address natural resource issues. These projects would assist landowners and operators with water management, water quality, and erosion control problems.

“More producers will be able to protect the state’s water quality and quantity with the additional funding,” said Zehner. “The AMA Program changes provide us with opportunities to help farmers put more conservation on the land.”

The interim final rule on AMA was recently published in the Federal Register. The rule can be found on the national NRCS website, the official government regulation site at Regulations.gov, and the Federal Register.

These comments will be used to revise the interim final rule, which establishes the policy to administer the program. NRCS will publish a final rule that will address the public comments. USDA has used the rulemaking process to streamline program administration and to address statutory changes authorized in the 2008 Farm Bill.

NRCS administers the conservation provisions of the AMA Program, which provides financial and technical assistance to eligible farmers to address natural resource issues such as water management, water quality, and soil erosion by including conservation practices into their agricultural operations. Producers may construct new irrigation systems, install alley cropping (pot-in-pot nursery planters), deer fencing, and reduce risk through diversification or resource conservation practices including soil erosion control, integrated pest management, or organic farming.

Two other USDA agencies have a role in the AMA Program. The Agricultural Marketing Service is responsible for an organic certification cost-share program, and the Risk Management Agency is responsible for mitigation of financial risk through an insurance cost-share program.

“AMA provides an opportunity for small scale and beginning farmers who might not normally participate in a government program to apply for assistance,” said Zehner.

Last year, NRCS in Connecticut assisted vegetable, nursery, berry, and grape producers in the development of conservation plans and the design of conservation practices on 20 acres.

In addition to Connecticut, the AMA Program is available in the following 15 states where participation in the Federal Crop Insurance Program has been historically low: Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming.

Comments on the interim final rule can be mailed to: Director, Financial Assistance Program Division, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Agricultural Management Assistance Program Comments, P.O. Box 2890, Room 5237-S, Washington, D.C. 20013. Comments may be faxed to (202) 720-4265 or e-mailed. People with disabilities who are interested in submitting comments may contact the USDA Target Center at (202) 720-2600. Comments may also be submitted through the Regulations.gov site’s public comment feature.

• Additional information about AMA
• Additional information about NRCS’s programs and services in Connecticut
  

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