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Hello Partners in Conservation,
We are moving forward in Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) implementation for fiscal year 2023. The Inflation Reduction Act provided unprecedented funding levels for several of the existing programs that NRCS implements. The increased funding levels begin in fiscal year 2023 and rapidly build over four years, totaling these additional amounts nationally:
By fiscal year, it is expected that those amounts will be distributed by year and program as follows:
Program
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Fiscal Year 2023
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Fiscal Year 2024
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Fiscal Year 2025
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Fiscal Year 2026
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EQIP
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$250 million
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$1,750 million
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$3,000 million
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$3,450 million
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CSP
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$250 million
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$500 million
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$1,000 million
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$1,500 million
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RCPP
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$250 million
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$800 million
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$1,500 million
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$2,400 million
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ACEP
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$100 million
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$200 million
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$500 million
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$600 million
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For 2023, we will be obligating Montana’s allocation of the IRA funding through our current program frameworks, including Montana Focused Conservation.
As funding ramps up in future years, your help will be critical in planning and implementing conservation activities that meet the climate smart goals of the Inflation Reduction Act, support our rural communities, and advance equity in delivery. I look forward to working with you.
A second funding cycle for community agriculture has also been announced. NRCS community ag assistance is size neutral, and it is more than high tunnels. In fact, the payment rates for some of our common conservation practices have been updated to account for operations that may implement them in square feet rather than acres, and other units. We are working to support first foods efforts, farm to table projects, and many other types of community agriculture.
Please help us to notify interested agricultural producers of this opportunity. Applications for the current funding cycle must be submitted by Feb. 14, 2023. Contact your local NRCS office for more information or talk with Brad Holliday, our community agriculture specialist, at bradley.holliday@usda.gov or 406-551-5359.
Take care,
Tom Watson
NRCS State Conservationist for Montana
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The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is accepting applications for the Community Agriculture Initiative. This initiative supports the conservation efforts of Montana’s farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners from small acreage to large. NRCS accepts applications year-round, but applications for the current funding cycle must be submitted by Feb. 14, 2023.
“Agricultural producers of all sizes provide local, nutritious food to their communities. Through this initiative, NRCS is prioritizing assistance to first foods efforts, farm to table projects, and many other types of community agriculture,” said Tom Watson, NRCS State Conservationist for Montana. “This includes an expanded set of conservation practices tailored to the conservation needs of small-scale ag producers.”
The small acreage activities make traditional conservation practices used at a large scale more applicable to operations of all sizes. For example, some payment rates are now based on square feet rather than acres of implementation for practices like grazing management, irrigation water management, pest management, and cover crops. In addition, some new practices have been added including low tunnel management and compost or compost plus biochar in small areas.
The Community Agriculture Initiative is funded through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program and builds on the previous high tunnel initiative. Find information about community agriculture on the NRCS Montana website at nrcs.usda.gov/montana under State Programs and Initiatives.
For more information about this initiative and how to apply, contact your local NRCS office. Get contact information at nrcs.usda.gov/contact.
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The Montana Association of Conservation Districts and the Natural Resources Conservation Service will be hosting the 2023 Montana Soil Health Symposium on Feb. 8-9 at the Billings Hotel and Convention Center.
The event will feature Jerry Doan of Black Leg Ranch in McKenzie, ND, Brendon Rockey of Rockey Farms in Center, CO, and John Kempf of Advancing Eco Agriculture and KindHarvest.ag in OH. Plus, a pre-conference workshop on Feb. 7 featuring four ranchers across Montana sharing their challenges and opportunities as they have worked to market their beef to consumers in different ways.
The Soil Health Symposium provides an opportunity for farmers, ranchers, gardeners, and technical specialists from all different landscapes, generations, and levels of experience to network and share their stories, successes, and lessons learned in the pursuit of soil management. Topics will range from human health and nutrition and how to work with partners and bankers in implementing regenerative practices to managing nutrition and microbe integrity for pest resistance and high yields and grass roots organizations accomplishing great things for resources and their communities. Jay Fuhrer, long-time conservationist, will take it back to the basics with Soil Health 101. In addition to the keynote speakers, you will hear from more than a dozen Montana agricultural producers using the soil health principles in their cropping, ranching, and gardening systems.
The pre-conference workshop will explore creative ways to get your products to customers, including livestock processing, regulations with state and USDA processing facilities, restaurants, marketing strategies, and other options. This registration is separate from the symposium and space is limited.
Early bird registration for the symposium ends Jan. 16, 2023, so register soon! Special pricing is also available for students and interns enrolled in educational agriculture programs.
Learn more, get the agenda, and register at mtsoilhealth.org.
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 Are you a farmer, rancher or forest manager? Please share your vital feedback with USDA by taking a nationwide survey at farmers.gov/survey! The survey is completely anonymous, will take about 10 minutes to complete, is available in multiple languages, and will be open until March 31, 2023. The survey focuses on gathering feedback about the Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service and Risk Management Agency.
All farmers, ranchers and forest managers are encouraged to take the survey. USDA would especially like to hear from prospective customers: those who don’t know about USDA or have yet to work with USDA, and those who were unable to participate in the past. The survey will help USDA enhance support, improve programs and services, increase access, and advance equity for new and existing customers.
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 Know a Montana rancher, farmer or forestland owner who goes above and beyond in the stewardship and management of natural resources? Nominate them for the 2023 Montana Leopold Conservation Award®.
Nominations may be submitted on behalf of a landowner, or landowners may nominate themselves. The application can be found on the Sand County Foundation Application web page.
The Montana Leopold Conservation Award deadline is March 15, 2023. See the call for applications for more information. Applications can be emailed to sbarta@mt.gov or postmarked by March 15, 2023, and mailed to:
Leopold Conservation Award
c/o Rangeland Resources Program Coordinator
Dept. of Natural Resources & Conservation
P.O. Box 414
Clyde Park, MT 59018
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 The 2022 Census of Agriculture is here!
Did you get your invitation? Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) mailed survey codes to all known agriculture producers across the 50 states with an invitation to respond online to the 2022 Census of Agriculture at agcounts.usda.gov. If you missed it or prefer paper, the paper questionnaires will follow in December.
The ag census is the nation’s only comprehensive and impartial agriculture data for every state, county, and territory. By completing the survey, producers across the nation can tell their story and help generate impactful opportunities that better serve them and future generations. It is a powerful voice for U.S. agriculture.
You need only respond once, whether securely online or by mail. The online option offers timesaving features ideal for busy producers. All responses are due Feb. 6, 2023. Farm operations of all sizes, urban and rural, which produced and sold, or normally would have sold, $1,000 or more of agricultural products in 2022, are included in the ag census. Changes for 2022 include new questions about precision agriculture, hemp production, hair sheep, and updates to internet access questions.
The data not only influence business and supply chain logistics, they inform policy and program decisions that directly impact producers, ag operations, and communities across the United States. For the latest news and updates about the Census of Agriculture, visit nass.usda.gov/AgCensus.
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Save the dates now. The workshop will be March 14-15, 2023, in Billings, MT.
- Increase your weather and climate knowledge;
- Network with others and build connections;
- Grow your confidence to effectively communicate about climate with local agricultural producers;
- Develop new skills to guide conservation planning for drought and other extreme events.
Event details and registration will be available at https://bit.ly/3fQTj4e.
We invite you, your colleagues, and agricultural & forestry partners to attend this informative and engaging workshop!
USDA NRCS provides reasonable accommodations for all persons with disabilities to participate in NRCS programs and activities. If you require special accommodations, contact Windy Kelley at wkelley1@uwyo.edu by February 28, 2023.
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The NACD Urban and Community Conservation (UAC) Grant Initiative is designed to enhance districts’ urban agriculture conservation technical assistance activities in developed and developing areas of both urban and rural communities.
The FY 2023 application period for the UAC grants is now open, with an application deadline of 11:59 PM Pacific Time, March 13, 2023. Only conservation districts as defined by state statute and tribes are eligible to apply for these grants, but organizations who have already received two grants since 2016 are not eligible to reapply in 2023.
These are not only limited to large cities. There have been many successes from the community agriculture standpoint as well as small towns.
For more information, please go to the UAC webpage.
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 Article and photo courtesy of the Ranchers Stewardship Alliance.
An amazing and unexpected honor, the Ranchers Stewardship Alliance was recently awarded the “Outstanding Partner Award” from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program.
The Program provides free technical and financial assistance to landowners, managers, tribes, corporations, schools and nonprofits interested in improving wildlife habitat on their land.
Along with the fancy plaque, RSA Executive Director Angel Devries and board member Rick Caqeulin traveled to Arkansas to receive the award and update the group on RSA’s great success.
This recognition wouldn’t have been possible without the local ranchers and ag producers who have trusted us time and time again to collaborate on private-land projects positively impacting ranchers, land, wildlife, and rural communities. This work truly is about the winning team!
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Find information about NRCS Montana local working group meetings, workshops, and other events on the Events page.
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Find job openings with NRCS Montana by visiting USAJobs.gov. This is the one place you will find all current federal job postings. You can then further narrow jobs if you like by using the search filters.
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New Employees
- Amy Humphrey, Ducks Unlimited Conservation Specialist, Montana State Office
- Isabella Ayala, Big Sky Watershed Corps, Bridger Plant Materials Center
- Kyle Wolf, Civil Engineer, Livingston Field Office
- Cody Pugh, Ducks Unlimited Conservation Specialist, Great Falls Area Office
- Zach Williams, Soil Conservationist, Chester Field Office
- Lonnie Cady, Partner Biologist, Chester Field Office
- Gavin Kenney, SGI Range Conservationist, Malta Field Office
- Janice Bovankovich, SGI Range Conservationist, Miles City Area Office
- Cole Twedt, Soil Conservationist, Philipsburg Field Office
- Erin Brown, National Wild Turkey Federation Forester, Miles City Area Office
Within Agency Changes
- Brad Holliday, Supervisory District Conservationist, Great Falls Field Office to Community Agriculture Specialist, Montana State Office
- Kristi Nile, Administrative Specialist, Miles City Area Office to Management Analyst, Montana State Office
- Ashlee Barker, District Conservationist, Billings Field Office to Supervisory District Conservationist, Townsend Field Office
- Landon Krogstad, Rangeland Management Specialist, Roundup Field Office to District Conservationist, Roundup Field Office
- Shalaine Watson, Soil Conservationist, Forsyth Field Office to District Conservationist, Forsyth Field Office
- Laurie Massar, District Conservationist, Chester Field Office to Area Resource Conservationist for Technology, Great Falls Area Office
- Ethan Kalinowski, Soil Conservationist, Shelby Field Office to Soil Conservationist, Conrad Field Office
- Russell Snedigar, Soil Conservationist, Chinook Field Office to District Conservationist, Chinook Field Office
- Johnna Cameron, Area Planner, Miles City Area Office to Tribal Conservationist for Fort Belknap, Chinook Field Office
- Bryce Murphy, Soil Conservationist, Jordan Field Office to Soil Conservationist, Lewistown Field Office
- Scott Anderson, Rangeland Management Specialist, Roundup Field Office to Rangeland Management Specialist, Winnett Field Office
- Heather Brower, Pheasants Forever Farm Bill Biologist, Scobey Field Office to Soil Conservationist, Scobey Field Office
- Seth Murnion, Soil Conservationist, Circle Field Office to Soil Conservationist, Miles City Field Office
- Austin Allen, Soil Conservationist, Ronan Field Office to District Conservationist, Philipsburg Field Office
- Amy Elkins, Soil Conservationist, Plains Field Office to Soil Conservationist, Ronan Field Office
- Matti Osterman, Soil Conservationist, Chester Field Office to a Resource Soil Scientist, Chester
- Alison Mann, Big Sky Watershed Corps, Bridger Plant Materials Center to Soil Conservationist, Deer Lodge Field Office
Losses
- Jenna McCrorie, Public Affairs Specialist, Montana State Office
- Tess Kosel, Biological Science Technician, Bridger Plant Materials Center
- Tim Dutton, Civil Engineer, Billings Field Office
- Will Purdy, District Conservationist, Havre Field Office
- Mark McLendon, Soil Conservationist, Lewistown Field Office
- Terry Heck, Assistant State Conservationist for Field Operations, Miles City Area Office
- David Winchell, Soil Conservation Technician, Glendive Field Office
- Kristine Handley, Area Supervisor Engineer, Missoula Area Office
- Herb Webb, Tribal Conservationist, Pablo Field Office
- Maxwell Buckner, Soil Conservationist, Deer Lodge Field Office
- Alanna Zubler, Civil Engineer, Deer Lodge Field Office
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