NRCS Sets February 12 Application Deadline to Apply for Easements

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has set a February 12 deadline to apply for wetland and agricultural land easements in Missouri. NRCS provides technical and financial assistance to help private landowners, tribes, land trusts and other groups protect valuable lands through easements.

The Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) focuses on restoring and protecting wetlands as well as conserving productive agricultural lands and grasslands. Landowners are compensated for enrolling their land in easements.

Through ACEP Wetland Reserve Easements, NRCS helps landowners restore and protect wetland ecosystems by compensating landowners for the easements. Wetlands provide many benefits, including critical habitat for a wide array of wildlife species. They also store floodwaters, clean and recharge groundwater, sequester carbon, trap sediment, and filter pollutants for clean water.

“The Agricultural Conservation Easement Program gives landowners a way to restore and preserve wetlands long-term while also easing the impact of the land not being available for agricultural production, said Scott Edwards, NRCS State Conservationist”

Wetland conservation easements are either permanent or for 30 years. Eligible lands include farmed or converted wetlands that can successfully be restored, croplands or grasslands subject to flooding, and riparian areas that link protected wetland areas. As part of the easement, NRCS and the landowner work together to develop a plan for the restoration and maintenance of the wetland.

Through ACEP Agricultural Land Easements, NRCS provides funds to conservation partners to purchase conservation easements on private working lands. This program helps keep working lands working, especially in areas experiencing development pressure.

Partners include state or local agencies, non-profits and tribes. Landowners continue to own their property but voluntarily enter into a legal agreement with a cooperating entity to purchase an easement. The cooperating entity applies for matching funds from NRCS for the purchase of an easement from the landowner, permanently protecting its agricultural use and conservation values. Landowners do not apply directly to NRCS for funding under this program. Easements are permanent. Eligible lands include privately owned cropland, rangeland, grassland, pastureland and forestlands.

Landowners and tribes interested in ACEP Wetland Reserve Easements and partners interested in ACEP Agricultural Land Easements should contact their local USDA service center. Applications for ACEP are taken on a continuous basis, but only those Missouri applications received by February 12 will be ranked and considered for funding this year.

NRCS Offers Grants to Promote Farm Bill Conservation Activities

 The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is offering grants for promoting public awareness and implementation of Farm Bill conservation activities.

State Conservationist J.R. Flores said $200,000 is available in Missouri this year for partners who can help make farmers, ranchers and specialty crop growers aware of NRCS programs. Areas of emphasis for the grants include: reaching historically underserved agricultural producers; workshops, field days and other educational efforts related to soil health; promoting effective management of private grazing lands; promoting cover crops and cropping rotations that reduce soil erosion and improve soil health; and informing producers about organic production and certification, as well as the production of specialty crops.



“NRCS is looking for partners who will use these grant funds to educate Missouri’s farm community, conservation organizations, other natural resource agencies, private landowners and other citizens about opportunities made possible by the Farm Bill,” Flores said.



Applications must be received by 4 p.m. on May 13. The full announcement and application instructions are available at http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/search-grants.html. For more information about the grant announcement and the application process, contact Jessica Phillips at Jessica.phillips@mo.usda.gov.

NRCS Announces Deadline for Wetlands Reserve Program

Missouri landowners interested in participating in the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) should apply by March 15 to be considered for the next round of funding, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) announced.

WRP is a voluntary program offering landowners the opportunity to protect, restore and enhance wetlands on their properties. NRCS provides technical and financial support to help landowners with their wetland restoration efforts.

By signing WRP easements, landowners receive cash payments in exchange for restoring or converting marginal agricultural land to shallow wetland areas. They also agree to maintain the new or restored wetlands.

NRCS' goal is to achieve the greatest wetland functions and values, along with optimum wildlife habitat, on every acre enrolled in the program.


Karen Brinkman, NRCS acting state conservationist, says funding for this round of application ranking is not guaranteed, and could be extremely limited.

"The highest-ranking applications always receive priority consideration for funding," Brinkman says. "We might not be able to fund many applications this time, and possibly none. But applications not funded this time will be kept on file for later consideration."

To sign up for WRP or to get more information about it and other NRCS programs, contact the NRCS office located in the USDA Service Center in your county.

Farmers and Ranchers Should Visit with NRCS About Conservation Plan Requirements

As one of the worst droughts in more than 30 years continues to grip Missouri, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) reminds producers to work with their local NRCS office to remain in compliance with their current conservation plans on highly erodible land.

Drought conditions affect yields, which affect the amount of cover left on a field following harvest.  Producers who have conservation plans for highly erodible cropland need to maintain a certain level of crop residue to remain in compliance with their conservation plans.  The drought could make meeting that requirement difficult for some producers.

State Conservationist J.R. Flores says NRCS is providing some flexibility in its program requirements to assist producers affected by drought.  Producers unable to meet residue requirements due to drought conditions may be eligible for a conservation compliance variance.

"NRCS understands that yields are down all across the state," Flores says.  "For this reason, producers may have more difficulty maintaining the required crop residues.  One option producers can consider to alleviate the stress on the land is to plant cover crops following the fall or spring operation."

Flores says, highly erodible fields that have been grazed or baled in 2012 would also be eligible for this variance, however the variance would not apply to irrigated fields that had sufficient water available to produce near normal yields.

Producers who have conservation contracts also may not be able to implement practices or conservation enhancements in accordance with their current conservation contract schedule.  Producers are urged to visit with their local NRCS staff as soon as possible if they find themselves in this situation.

$1 million for drought help

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Missouri has been allocated more than $1 million to assist currently enrolled Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP) producers who have suffered setbacks from the drought.

Nationally, $16 million in financial and technical assistance has been made available to help eligible crop and livestock producers in 19 states.  Missouri received the fifth-highest share in the nation with $925,000 allotted for EQIP producers and $100,000 for WHIP producers.  Obligations must be made by September 1 for Missouri to receive its more than $1 million share.

Missouri State Conservationist J.R. Flores has made $300,000 of EQIP funding available to producers with failed practices from an active EQIP contract, while $625,000 has been approved for existing, unfunded EQIP applications previously determined eligible for 2012 EQIP funding.  Producers can modify current EQIP contracts to allow for grazing, livestock watering and other conservation activities to address drought conditions in accordance with planning guidance.

The entire $100,000 allotment of WHIP funding has been designated solely for the re-application of failed practices in active WHIP contracts.

"The $1 million we received from the USDA for EQIP and WHIP practices, combined with the July 27 authorization to allow haying and grazing of Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) easement areas in drought-affected areas are steps that should help alleviate some of the stress of this year's drought," Flores said.  "I'm thankful we have been able to provide resources and flexibility in our existing programs to help producers suffering the burden of this historic event."

Landowners and producers eligible for funding should contact their local NRCS field office for further information and procedures.  To locate a USDA service center visit http://offices.sc.egov.usda.gov/locator/app.

For additional drought resources visit the NRCS Drought Assistance website at www.nrcs.usda.gov or http://www.mo.nrcs.usda.gov/Drought_2012.html for Missouri specific information.

Northwest agricultural sciences department to host cover crop workshops

The Department of Agricultural Sciences at Northwest Missouri State recently received a grant from the Missouri Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to develop and host cover crop workshops focused on educating local producers and gardeners on the virtues of using cover crops in their traditional production systems.

The workshops will be 8:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 10, beginning in Charles Johnson Theater. Onsite registration begins at 8 a.m., although pre-registration is recommended online at http://www.nwmissouri.edu/ag/ or by calling the department at 660.562.1155.

The one-day workshops are free and open to the public. A free lunch also will be provided.

The workshop will consist of guest speakers, including local producers, university experts and NRCS personnel. In addition, attendees will have the opportunity to tour Northwest’s cover crop demonstration plots, which consist of various cover crop species and cover mixtures.

The workshop will be divided into two tracts. The agronomy tract will focus on the use of cover crops in corn, soybean and small grains, and the horticulture tract will focus on the use of cover crops in orchards, vegetables and gardens.

“We have seen a dramatic upswing – some estimate a 400 to 500 percent increase – in the use of cover crops to promote soil quality over the past few years,” said Dr. Jamie Patton, associate professor of agriculture at Northwest. “Cover crops are used to increase soil organic matter contents, porosity and nutrient levels, as well as reduce erosion.”

The use of cover crops is becoming more common, Patton said, after fertilizer and pesticide production steered ag producers away from growing the beneficial crops. Prior to World War II, cover crops were commonly grown during the fall, winter and early spring for use in grazing and to add nitrogen to the soil and help control weed pressures for cash crops.

“Some producers who have regularly used cover crops in their typical crop rotations have experienced the decreased need for commercial fertilizers coupled with increases in corn yield,” Patton said. “To me, that is a win-win situation, particularly as we move toward more sustainable agricultural systems.”

Patton said Northwest’s agricultural sciences department has grown various types of cover crops during the last three years. Last fall, within an area of highly compacted soil north of the Valk Center, the department grew tillage radishes and studied the impact of the roots on improving soil tilth. At the Mozingo Outdoor Education Recreation Area, the department has grown various cereal grains, legumes and winter canola to control erosion, improve soil fertility and provide wildlife habitat near Mozingo Lake.

“While the exploration of varied cover crops adds to Northwest students’ knowledge, the students also are gaining valuable skills by helping to plan and organize the upcoming workshop,” Patton said.

“Many of our students are going into careers where they’ll be responsible for hosting field days or educational events. By integrating our students in all aspects of this workshop, from planning to execution, we’re providing our students experience in the challenges of planning and organizing such events, as well all aspects of budgeting and publicity. Students are getting a good feel of the whole process, and they’re really excited that this isn’t just a class project. It is exciting that there is actually going to be real, tangible product in the end, and that the decisions they make will impact the experience of all the workshop attendees.”

NRCS Offers Headquarters Agricultural Energy Management Plan

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will offer the Headquarters Agricultural Energy Management Plan (Headquarters AgEMP) to Missouri farmers and ranchers to help them conduct energy audits and improve their overall energy efficiency. The initiative offers Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) participants a one-time payment to obtain an energy management plan for their headquarters operations.
"By offering this initiative, we are encouraging our producers to review how they use energy in their operations," NRCS State Conservationist J.R. Flores said. "We want to assist our farmers and ranchers in becoming more energy efficient, while also helping reduce their impact on the environment."
On-farm energy audits are tailored to each agricultural operation's primary energy uses. The audits help producers determine the amount of energy used by the entire operation and also identify short-and long-term measures producers can implement to conserve energy and achieve greater energy efficiencies. At a minimum, Headquarters AgEMP must identify baseline usage for non-residential structures and all stationary equipment used in farming operations. Vehicles and the farmstead are excluded.
The headquarters energy audit will cover the primary energy users such as irrigation pumping, heating and cooling of livestock production facilities, manure collection and transfer, grain drying and similar common on-farm activities. Missouri policy for the Headquarters AgEMP can be found online at http://www.mo.nrcs.usda.gov/.
Payment for Headquarters AgEMP requires the use of a registered Technical Service Provider (TSP).
Missouri will distribute $50,000 through the Headquarters AgEMP. Applications will be accepted through Friday, Feb. 18. Interested producers should contact their local NRCS office to apply for the Energy Management Plan. To locate the NRCS office nearest you, look in the phone book under U.S. Government, Department of Agriculture, or visit the Missouri NRCS website at http://www.mo.nrcs.usda.gov/.