With Covid-19 cases dropping throughout the country, all New Jersey Service Centers are now accepting in-office visitors, no appointment needed. Farm Service Agency (FSA) and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) staff also continue to work with agricultural producers via phone, email, and other digital tools.

Please visit our State Website for regulars updates on which offices are impacted at http://www.fsa.usda.gov/nj

The Farm Service Agency (FSA) assists beginning farmers to finance agricultural enterprises. Under these designated farm loan programs, FSA can provide financing to eligible applicants through either direct or guaranteed loans. FSA defines a beginning farmer as a person who:

• Has operated a farm for not more than 10 years
• Will materially and substantially participate in the operation of the farm
• Agrees to participate in a loan assessment, borrower training and financial management program sponsored by FSA
• Does not own a farm in excess of 30 percent of the county’s average size farm.

For more information contact, contact your local service center.

USDA will be seeking nominations from fruit and vegetable industry members to fill up to 25 seats on the Fruit and Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee. The FVIAC provides advice and recommendations to the Secretary of Agriculture on issues of importance to the produce industry.
Qualified candidates may nominate themselves, or someone can nominate another candidate who is interested, qualified, and agrees to the nomination. Nominees must currently work in one of the agricultural capacities within the supply chain, as listed below (within the retail or commercial produce industry):

• Growers/Shippers
• Wholesalers/Receivers
• Processors
• Fresh-Cut Processors
• Brokers and Retailers
• Importers/Exporters
• Food Service Suppliers
• Organic and Non-Organic Farmers
• Farmers Markets/Food Hubs
• Community-Supported Agricultural Organizations
• State Agriculture Departments
• Trade Associations

Membership Requirements and Responsibilities

• Nominees may not be registered as a lobbyist at any level of government (Executive Order No. 13490)
•  Nominees may not serve on more than one USDA Advisory Committee, concurrent to the Fruit and Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee two-year term.
• Committee members may not serve more than three consecutive two-year terms, or six consecutive years on the Committee.
• Ability to serve a full two-year term.
• The ability to work effectively in a large group setting with other produce industry sector members.
• Must be available and able to attend 2 meetings per year in the Washington DC, metro region (Members of the Committee are reimbursed by the USDA for approved travel and associated lodging expenses as determined by all guidelines and regulations specified by the U.S. General Services Administration).
• Must be available and participate in Subcommittee conference calls.

Nomination Packages (required)

1. Advisory Committee Background Information Form AD–755
   https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ad-755.pdf
2. Resume or Curriculum Vitae (Must be limited to five one-sided pages and should include a summary of the following information: Current and past organization affiliations; areas of expertise; education; career positions held; and any other notable positions held.)
3. Cover Letter

Supplementary Material (optional but encouraged)

• Biography
• List of Endorsements or Letters of Support (from Industry Group, Congressional
  Member, or Local/State Agricultural Office)

Nomination packages can be emailed to
SCPFVIAC@usda.gov.

Email is preferred. Mail packages to:
Darrell Hughes
ATTN: Fruit and Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee
U.S Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Avenue, SW.
South Building-Room 1575-N
Mail Stop 0235
Washington, DC 20250-0235

About FVIAC: http://www.ams.usda.gov/about-ams/facas-advisory-councils/fviac
Nomination Information: www.ams.usda.gov/about-ams/fviac-nomination-information

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) encourages producers and landowners to enroll in the Grassland Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) starting next week through May 13, 2022. Grassland CRP provides a unique opportunity for farmers, ranchers, and agricultural landowners to keep land in agricultural production and supplement their income while improving their soils and permanent grass cover.   The program had its highest enrollment in history in 2021 and is part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s broader effort to equip producers with the tools they need to help address climate change and invest in the long-term health of our natural resources.

Grassland CRP is a federally funded voluntary working lands program. Through the program, USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) provides annual rental payments to landowners to maintain and conserve grasslands while allowing producers to graze, hay, and produce seed on that land.  Maintaining the existing permanent cover provides several benefits, including reducing erosion, providing wildlife habitat and migration corridors, and capturing and maintaining carbon in the soil and cover.    

FSA provides participants with annual rental payments and cost-share assistance. The annual rental rate varies by county with a national minimum rental rate of $13 per acre for this signup. Contract duration is 10 or 15 years. 

Grassland CRP National Priority Zones 

Because Grassland CRP supports not only grazing operations but also biodiversity and conserving environmentally sensitive land such as that prone to wind erosion, FSA created two National Priority Zones in 2021: the Greater Yellowstone Migration Corridor and Dust Bowl Zone. As part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s focus on conservation in important wildlife corridors and key seasonal ranges, for this year’s signup, FSA is expanding the Greater Yellowstone Wildlife Migration Corridor Priority Zone to include seven additional counties across Montana, Wyoming, and Utah, to help protect the big-game animal migration corridor associated with Wyoming elk, mule deer, and antelope.  

Offers within one of these National Priority Zones will receive an additional 15 ranking points and $5 per acre if at least 50% of the offer is located in the zone. 

Alongside Grassland CRP, producers and landowners can also enroll acres in Continuous CRP under the ongoing sign up, which includes projects available through the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) and State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement (SAFE).    

Broadening Reach of Program 

As part of the Agency’s Justice40 efforts, producers and landowners who are historically underserved, including beginning farmers and military veterans, will receive 10 additional ranking points to enhance their offers. 

Additionally, USDA is working to broaden the scope and reach of Grassland CRP by leveraging the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) to engage historically underserved communities. CREP is a partnership program that enables states, Tribal governments, non-profit, and private entities to partner with FSA to implement CRP practices and address high priority conservation and environmental objectives. Interested entities are encouraged to contact FSA. 

More Information on CRP   

Landowners and producers interested in Grassland CRP should contact their local USDA Service Center to learn more or to apply for the program before the May 13 deadline.  Additionally, fact sheets and other resources are available at fsa.usda.gov/crp.    

Signed into law in 1985, CRP is one of the largest voluntary private-lands conservation programs in the United States. The working lands signup announced today demonstrates how much it has evolved from the original program that was primarily intended to control soil erosion and only had the option to take enrolled land out of production. The program has expanded over the years and now supports a greater variety of conservation and wildlife benefits, along with the associated economic benefits.      

USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit usda.gov.  

NRCS NJ will fund $275,000 through Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) for the development of new tools, approaches, practices and technologies to further conservation on New Jersey private lands. USDA is accepting proposals through May 23, 2022. 

Interested in applying?
Learn more at our webinar scheduled for March 31 at 1 pm.

To join, click here.

If you’ve been to farmers.gov before, things may look a little different from the last time you were here. We’ve made some changes, to improve how you find information so that you can find what you need even more easily and efficiently. 

The big, green navigation bar near the top of every page – it’s different now. It opens up, to show descriptions and subtopics, making it quicker and easier to figure out what’s where and reduce guessing. Why? Two reasons: First, farmers.gov has grown a lot over the years and the old navigation wasn’t designed for the load. Second, because you asked for it.  We analyzed your comments through the “Feedback” button on the site and tested our new designs and information organization with real farmers and ranchers through surveys and live testing sessions. 

Along with the new website navigation, we restructured how our pages and topics are grouped and organized to help you easily access the information you need. We also relabeled some of our existing pages using more direct language. This means that pages or information you’ve used before may have different labels or be in new places. 

Important changes: 

• The old Fund page is now called Loans. The Loans page has information and resources about USDA loans, including the Farm Loan Programs. 
• The Recover page is now Protection and Recovery. This page has information to help you prepare and recover from natural disasters, and to mitigate risk for your operation. 
• The Conserve page is now Conservation. This page hasn’t changed much and still has information on how to implement conservation practices, improve and preserve natural resources, and address conservation concerns. 
• The Manage page is now Working With Us. This page connects you with resources that tell you how USDA can help you start, expand, enhance, or improve your agricultural operation. 
• The Connect page has been replaced with Your Business, a guide to USDA resources that cater to your specific operation.  Information that was on the Connect page has been moved to the Contact Us page and the Get Involved page. 

We are always updating farmers.gov based on your feedback and to stay up-to-date with important USDA announcements. We’ve recently created some new webpages, and updated some existing ones, to better equip you with the vital information you need. There are even more new pages coming soon, so stay tuned! 

For farmers.gov, we don’t guess what farmers and ranchers want from a website. We start by asking, then test our designs with volunteers who are also farmers and ranchers. 

There’s a feedback button on every page of farmers.gov. Based on your feedback, we looked for ways to make our site easier to use and to build the information that you’re looking for. Live user testing sessions provide data, such as this heatmap, showing where testers tended to click during an exercise. 

You helped us create the new navigation design, the new information organization, and told us how to speak using your words, and not legalese. 

Check out farmers.gov today!