The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is seeking public input on how to improve conservation practice standards to maximize climate change mitigation and adaptation benefits, as supported by peer-reviewed scientific literature. Conservation practices providing climate benefits are delivered through existing USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) conservation programs popular with producers, like the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP), and Regional …
Signup Deadline for Alabama’s Financial Assistance Programs is Friday
The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in Alabama (NRCS-AL) wants to remind landowners and agricultural producers the initial Fiscal Year 2025 financial assistance programs signup deadline is Friday, November 1, 2024. The applicable programs include the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), also (EQIP) Conservation Incentive Contracts (CIC) and the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). CSP …
Balancing Working Lands Conservation and Productivity
The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) wants to remind landowners about the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). It helps build on your existing conservation efforts while strengthening your operation. And that is especially true for forestry landowners.+ During a recent event, Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation Robert Bonnie, discussed the need to balance working lands conservation with economic viability for producers and …
Signup Deadline Announced for Alabama’s Financial Assistance Programs
The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in Alabama (NRCS-AL) announces the initial Fiscal Year 2025 Financial Assistance Programs signup deadline is November 1, 2024. Applicable programs include: CSP helps agricultural producers maintain and improve their existing conservation systems and adopt additional conservation activities to address priority resources concerns. Participants earn CSP payments for conservation performance, the higher the performance, the higher the payment. EQIP provides …
Florida State Conservationist Promotes CSP for Forest Landowners
Many producers and landowners are familiar with the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), but many not have taken the time to learn more about it. So, Florida State Conservationist Juan Hernandez, with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), is encouraging forest landowners in the state to learn more about what the program can do for them. NRCS can custom design a CSP plan to help meet …
USDA-NRCS Offering Funding Opportunities through CSP
The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) wants to remind producers and private landowners about assistance opportunities through the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). The program can help strengthening your operation by building on existing conservation efforts. Whether you are looking to increase crop resiliency, improve grazing conditions or develop wildlife habitat, NRCS can custom design a CSP plan to help meet your goals. It starts …
NRCS Resources for Pollinator Week
Supporting pollinators is critical to our food security and a key USDA conservation focus in collaboration with farmers, ranchers, and other land managers nationwide. From alfalfa to zucchini, over 100 U.S. crops depend on animal pollinators. We need pollinators, and pollinators need us. In celebration of National Pollinator Week, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is sharing a suite of …
Producers Reminded about USDA Conservation Programs
The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) encourages agricultural producers and forest landowners across the Southeast to participate in voluntary conservation programs and adopt climate-smart practices in fiscal year 2024. NRCS is accepting applications for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) and Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP), which help a wide variety of producers, including urban and organic producers. For fiscal year 2024, NRCS …
Senators Want $1.2 Billion for Conservation Funding
A group of U.S. Senators are calling on the Senate Appropriations Committee to fully fund agricultural conservation programs in the FY 2025 funding bill. “Land-based mitigation measures in agriculture, forestry, and other land use sectors represent some of the most important options currently available for large-scale emissions reductions and the removal and storage of carbon dioxide at scale,” Senators Michael …
NACD Calls to Increase Funding for Conservation Priorities
This past Saturday, President Biden signed Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 appropriations legislation into law that provides funding for several federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Department of the Interior. And while the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) appreciates that the enactment of final federal spending legislation prevents a government shutdown and …