Natural Resources Conservation Service Delivering Results for Agriculture and Conservation Ashley Lenig USDA-NRCS Conservation: - planned management of a natural resource to prevent exploitation, destruction, or neglect (MW dictionary) – use the land while keeping our resources for generations to come.

NRCS helps private landowners make good conservation decisions NRCS OVERVIEW One-on-One advice  Our programs are voluntary and incentive-based. We’re not a regulatory agency. Producers apply to participate in NRCS programs and we provide them with the technical guidance and financial assistance they need to implement proven conservation practices on their lands. NRCS spends $8 million every day into conservation systems that help producers stay profitable and productive.   The conservation practices we promote – everything from practices that manage excess nutrients and waste on farms to practices that promote soil health, among a host of others, are helping to protect our natural resources for the long-term, while at the same time improving producers’ operations. It’s about taking care of the landscape in concert with agricultural productivity. For the American people – this work is supporting a healthy, sustainable food supply. It’s helping to ensure we have clean air to breathe and clean water to drink. It’s preserving and protecting natural places and wildlife for the long-term.

NRCS can help you... Improve Soil Health and Reduce Erosion Conserve and Protect Water Resources Improve Air Quality and Conserve Energy Manage Manure and Nutrients Manage Pastures and Grasslands Create and Improve Wildlife and Aquatic Habitat Manage Forestlands Certify or Transition to Organic Farming Install a Seasonal High Tunnel Restore, Protect and Enhance Wetlands Permanently Protect Farm Land NRCS 's natural resources conservation programs help people reduce soil erosion, enhance water supplies, improve water quality, increase wildlife habitat, and reduce damages caused by floods and other natural disasters. NRCS provides funding opportunities for agricultural producers and other landowners through these programs. Public benefits include enhanced natural resources that help sustain agricultural productivity and environmental quality while supporting continued economic development, recreation, and scenic beauty.  A VARIETY OF CONSERVATION WORK INCLUDING WILDLIFE

Types of Assistance TECHNICAL- Conservation planning FINANCIAL- Cost-share All assistance is voluntary NRCS delivers conservation technical assistance through its voluntary Conservation Technical Assistance Program (CTA).  CTA is available to any group or individual interested in conserving our natural resources and sustaining agricultural production in this country. FREE! Conservation technical assistance is the help NRCS and its partners provide to land users to address opportunities, concerns, and problems related to the use of natural resources and to help land users make sound natural resource management decisions on private, tribal, and other non-federal lands. This assistance may be in the form of resource assessment, practice design, resource monitoring, or follow-up of installed practices.

Financial Assistance Programs Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) Our financial assistance programs include: The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) provides financial and technical assistance to agricultural producers in order to address natural resource concerns and deliver environmental benefits such as improved water and air quality, conserved ground and surface water, reduced soil erosion and sedimentation or improved or created wildlife habitat. The Conservation Stewardship Program (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. Easement Programs- NRCS offers the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) to landowners who want to maintain or enhance their land in a way beneficial to agriculture and/or the environment. All NRCS easement programs are voluntary. We provide technical help and financial assistance, but local landowners and organizations are needed to make NRCS easement programs successful.

Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) Ag producers & Non- industrial private forestland owners For structural and management conservation practices such as Manure storage Barnyard Improvement Organic farming Soil health Fixer-Upper Program.

Before and After EQIP On the left: BEFORE: Dairy cattle that were contributing to the erosion of the stream banks and increasing nutrient concentrations in the runoff. Through EQIP, the family installed stream crossings to allow safe passage for the cattle and avoid erosion and harmful nutrients getting into the stream. They fenced their cattle out of more than two miles of the stream and planted buffers to stabilize the banks. On the Right: Barnyard before and after improvments.

Conservation Security Program (CSP) Largest conservation program in the US Working Ag and Forestlands Helps producers build on existing conservation efforts Benefits Improved cattle gains per acre Increased crop yields Decreased inputs Wildlife population improvements Better resilience to weather extremes Minimum annual payment of $1,500. CSP is for working lands. It is the largest conservation program in the United States with 70 million acres of productive agricultural and forest land enrolled in CSP. People voluntarily enroll in the program because it helps them enhance natural resources and improve their business operation. Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) helps you build on your existing conservation efforts. (ENHANCEMENTS) If you are already taking steps to improve the condition of the land, chances are CSP can help you find new ways to meet your goals. Payments- Contract payments are based on two components: payments to maintain the existing conservation based on the operation type and number of resource concerns that are meeting the stewardship level at the time of application and payments to implement additional conservation activities. All CSP contracts will have a minimum annual payment of $1,500.

Before and After CSP Pollinator Planting

Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) Provides financial and technical assistance to help conserve agricultural lands and wetlands and their related benefits. 2 Components: Agricultural Land Easements component: NRCS helps state and local governments and non-governmental organizations protect working ag lands and limit non-agricultural uses of the land.  Wetlands Reserve Easements component: NRCS helps to restore, protect and enhance enrolled wetlands. The Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) provides financial and technical assistance to help conserve agricultural lands and wetlands and their related benefits. The purposes of ACEP include: Restore, protect, and enhance wetland on eligible land. Protect the agricultural use, viability, and related conservation values of eligible land by limiting non-agricultural uses. Protect grazing uses and related conservation values by restoring and conserving eligible land. There are two components to the program: Wetlands and Agricultural Lands Easements. The wetlands component mirrors the WRP authorizing language and the agricultural land component is modeled after the FRPP.  

Agricultural Land Easements (ALE) Helps farmers keep land in agriculture. Eligible land- Cropland Grassland Pastureland Non-industrial private forest land. NRCS contributes up to 50% of fair market value of ag land easement. Or up to 75% if NRCS determines that grasslands of special environmental significance will be protected NRCS provides financial assistance to eligible partners for purchasing Agricultural Land Easements that protect the agricultural use and conservation values of eligible land. In the case of working farms, the program helps farmers keep their land in agriculture. The program also protects grazing uses and related conservation values by conserving grassland, including rangeland, pastureland and shrubland.  Land eligible for agricultural easements includes cropland, rangeland, grassland, pastureland and nonindustrial private forest land. NRCS will prioritize applications that protect agricultural uses and related conservation values of the land and those that maximize the protection of contiguous acres devoted to agricultural use. Under the Agricultural Land component, NRCS may contribute up to 50 percent of the fair market value of the agricultural land easement.  Where NRCS determines that grasslands of special environmental significance will be protected, NRCS may contribute up to 75 percent of the fair market value of the agricultural land easement.

Wetland Reserve Easements (WRE) NRCS provides assistance directly to landowners to restore, protect, and enhance wetlands through the purchase of a wetland reserve easement.  Eligible land- farmed or converted wetland that can be restored. Enrollment Options- Permanent 30-years NRCS also provides technical and financial assistance directly to private landowners and Indian tribes to restore, protect, and enhance wetlands through the purchase of a wetland reserve easement.  For acreage owned by an Indian tribe, there is an additional enrollment option of a 30-year contract. Land eligible for wetland reserve easements includes farmed or converted wetland that can be successfully and cost-effectively restored. NRCS will prioritize applications based the easement’s potential for protecting and enhancing habitat for migratory birds and other wildlife. For wetland reserve easements, NRCS pays all costs associated with recording the easement in the local land records office, including recording fees, charges for abstracts, survey and appraisal fees, and title insurance.

Pennsylvania NRCS FY 2018 Investments on Private Working Lands Projects: 21,363 Conservation Practices Applied CTA: 1,715 Conservation Plans on 212,991 ac. EQIP: 424 clients, 49,220 ac., $21.6 M CSP: 143 clients, 48,295 ac., $1.4 M ACEP: ALE 437 ac. acquired, $572,365 M WRE 112 ac. acquired $472,814

Employee people and feed a growing population NRCS encourages the economy with land-movers and laborers hired to complete the work Improvements to existing conditions and adaptability to climate changes Enhanced production potential

Contact your local USDA Service Center Today CLOSING REMARKS Contact your local USDA Service Center Today Visit us at www.pa.nrcs.usda.gov USDA is an equal opportunity employer, provider, and lender.