In This Issue:
With harvest season here, it's a great time for producers to work on their own operation’s goals. In some ways, being a farmer or rancher is like being a coach. You assess the landscape, develop a strategy, cultivate a team, and refine your tactics each season as you find the plays that work. All the while, your team here at the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) are proud to support and cheer you on, season after season.
First Quarter
One of the first and most important steps is to develop a game plan. Ask yourself: What's working well? What could be improved? How can you best navigate your opportunities and challenges to reach your goals?
Our conservation experts can help you answer all those questions. Your local district conservationist will meet with you, walk your land with you, and help develop a conservation plan customized to match your field goals. This tailored gameplan will help you develop a playbook for many successful seasons.
Second Quarter
No successful farmer goes it alone; you're going to need to recruit a winning team. But if you create the right conditions, you'll attract the most talented players nature can provide. Practice makes perfect, and your NRCS Team at the USDA Service Center will discuss some tried and true practices that will attract a deep bench of soil microbes, pollinators, beneficial insects, and other key players. With the right team, you'll grow like never before.
Third Quarter
You've found your stride and things are growing well, but there's always room for a bit more optimization and improvement. Your NRCS conservation experts will highlight practices that will elevate your team to the next level, help you thrive with fewer inputs and less waste, and grow more by doing less.
Fourth Quarter
By following your conservation gameplan, adopting soil health practices, optimizing your inputs, and reducing your waste, you'll enjoy a strong home field advantage for many seasons to come. Unlike in football, your team will always stick around and grow stronger with each passing season. You will bank the benefits of conservation and enjoy the resiliency and productivity of healthy soil.
No matter which of these goals you are looking to accomplish on your farm, experts from USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) are available to help you accomplish them. For more information on how NRCS, can help you kick this next growing season through the uprights, contact your local service enter by visiting farmers.gov/service-locator.
Greetings,
This month we observed Labor Day to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers. September also begins the National Hispanic Heritage Month. This observance is every year from September 15th – October 15th. FSA celebrates the contributions of Hispanics and Latinos to our nation’s economy, culture, labor, communities and so much more. We celebrate the rich histories and hard-fought journeys towards independence and understand that the importance of this month’s observance goes beyond celebrations.
The application period is now open for a new financial assistance program under Section 22007 of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), for farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners who experienced discrimination in USDA farm lending programs prior to January 2021. The application process will close on October 31. Borrowers will have the option to apply for assistance online via 22007apply.gov or through a paper-based form. Applicants can also call the free call center at 1-800-721-0970, or visit one of the offices. It is important to note that filing an application is FREE and does not require an attorney. If you would like weekly updates go to https://22007apply.gov, and subscribe to a weekly newsletter.
FSA wants to keep you posted on the latest news related to the new urban county committee and how it can help your farm. Information will include updates about nominations, elections and the work being done by the committee to help farmers like you in your local areas.
Subscribe now to receive emails and text messages to receive important updates by visiting farmers.gov/subscribe (“AR–Little Rock-Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production”; Code: USDAFARMERS_4141; Service Center Keyword “ARLittleRockUrbanAg”). There are many topics available to producers including disaster assistance, conservation programs, crop insurance and farm loans. Participants may unsubscribe at any time.
This is a reminder to visit farmers.gov for additional information on Disaster Assistance. Access the Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool, the Disaster Assistance-at-a-Glance fact sheet, and the Loan Assistance Tool to help determine program or loan options. For additional information on FSA programs, they should contact their local USDA Service Center.
To find your local FSA office, please visit farmers.gov/service-locator.
Visit www.farmers.gov to learn more about FSA Programs.
Until next time…
Conservation Innovation Grants Will Help Farmers, Ranchers, and Forest Landowners Reduce Methane Emission – a Key Driver of the Climate Crisis
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the availability of $65 million through two funding opportunities for new tools, approaches, practices and technologies to further natural resource conservation on private lands through the Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) program. Of this funding, $25 million will be delivered through the Inflation Reduction Act, the largest clean energy and climate investment in history, which directed USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to prioritize CIG On-Farm Trials projects that use diet and feed management to reduce enteric methane emissions from ruminants, as well as other projects that have climate mitigation benefits.
The Inflation Reduction Act provided an additional $19.5 billion for NRCS conservation programs, including $25 million for this year’s CIG On-Farm Trials. NRCS is committed to supporting farmers, ranchers, private landowners and Tribal Nations, to build resilient agricultural operations, combat climate change, ensure equity, and support voluntary conservation on working lands.
Two separate CIG funding opportunities are now available on grants.gov: $50 million through CIG On-Farm Trials and $15 million is available through CIG Classic.
For CIG On-Farm Trials, this year’s funding priorities are:
- Irrigation water management technologies
- Nutrient management
- Feeding management and enteric methane reduction
- Grazing lands
- Soil health demonstration trials
For CIG Classic, this year’s funding priorities are:
- Forestry
- Habitat conservation and restoration for wildlife and invertebrates
- Managing agricultural lands to improve local water quality
- Energy conservation
- Economics
- Strengthening conservation through indigenous knowledge
Strong consideration will be given to proposals that include Historically Underserved entities and individuals.
This opportunity is open to all domestic non-federal entities and individuals based in the United States for projects carried out in the U.S.
Applications are being accepted now through October 30, 2023.
About CIG
CIG is a competitive grants program. Through creative problem solving and innovation, CIG partners work to address our nation's water quality, water quantity, air quality, soil health and wildlife habitat challenges, all while improving agricultural operations. CIG contributes to USDA’s efforts to address climate change through climate-smart agriculture.
CIG On-Farm Trials projects feature collaboration between NRCS and partners to implement on-the-ground conservation activities and then evaluate their impact. Incentive payments are provided to producers to offset the risk of implementing innovative approaches.
The Soil Health Demonstration (SHD) Trial component of On-Farm Trials focuses exclusively on implementation of conservation practices and systems that improve soil health.
A critical element of each On-Farm Trials project is the project evaluation. Partners must propose robust scientific approaches to their On-Farm Trials, resulting in data and analyses of the environmental, financial, and to the extent possible, social impacts of the trials.
NRCS will use the results of On-Farm Trials project evaluations and analyses to explore the development of new NRCS conservation assistance, guidance documents, technical tools, and conservation practice standards or modifications to existing ones.
Since 2004, CIG has invested $411.8 million to fund 842 innovative projects and 435 partners.
To learn more, visit usda.gov.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) launched the Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot Program (FSCP) over five years ago. The program helps agricultural producers and private landowners combat the costly impacts of feral swine. Through 34 pilot projects across 12 states highly impacted by feral hogs, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services’ (APHIS) Wildlife Services (WS) partnered through the FSCP to control the threat of feral swine to agricultural landscapes and natural ecosystems.
The program has delivered on its goals of managing feral swine to reduce the damage caused to agriculture, property, natural resources, and human health, which is detailed in its newly released National Feral Swine Damage Assessment Preliminary Findings report https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/sites/default/files/2023-04/USDANationalDamageAssessmentPreliminaryFindings_03_27_23.pdf.
The FSCP has worked for five years to help producers and landowners in Arkansas, benefit from feral swine reductions. They can now expand the use of their agricultural lands, harvesting crops in areas that were previously devastated by feral swine and have reported being able to plant crops with higher economic returns https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/sites/default/files/2022-09/Feral_Swine2021Updates.pdf.
Since last October, the program had successfully assisted over 4,300 landowners on almost 3 million acres in 12 states. In addition, training and outreach events were held to educate landowners on feral swine issues and trapping techniques and reached more than 100,000 people across all pilot project areas. The program also formed new partnerships and promoted projects and research that helped protect agricultural resources, native ecosystems, and human and animal health in areas hard hit by feral swine.
Working with 14 grant partners, NRCS provided financial assistance to producers for on-farm trapping and technology related to capturing and removing feral swine and restoring damaged lands. In addition, NRCS partner organizations provided other services, including pre- and post-project damage assessments and other means to assess control efforts.
APHIS worked through the program to continue direct control activities using well-established feral swine management methods and advanced innovative approaches to reduce feral hog populations, working with landowners to suppress and eliminate feral swine in project areas where agricultural and other natural resources were severely damaged.
Using innovative technologies such as unmanned aerial systems, remotely managed traps using telemetry, and science-based camera monitoring techniques, feral swine were eliminated in several areas and dramatically reduced in others. Due to this success, some landowners and resource managers who were previously skeptical about successfully managing feral swine damage, have changed their minds and now advocate for continued control efforts.
In addition, financial support from local partners has resulted in over $10 million in cost share support to APHIS WS activities in Farm Bill-funded states.
APHIS and NRCS worked jointly to develop guidance for identifying pilot project areas, based on several biological factors that contributed to successful operational control, including the presence of natural boundaries that limited rapid feral swine reinvasion from surrounding areas. In consultation with state technical committees, thirty-four pilot project areas were identified across 12 states including Arkansas.
The Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot Program (FSCP) was authorized by the 2018 Farm Bill and provided $75 million to be split evenly between NRCS and APHIS-WS, to reduce severe damage of feral swine, over a five-year span (2019-2023).
For more information on feral swine efforts, visit the Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot Program web page: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/feral-swine-eradication-and-control-pilot-program or contact Arkansas NRCS Biologist James Baker at james.baker2@usda.gov.
The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) provides technical and financial assistance to agricultural producers and forest landowners to address natural resource concerns, such as:
- Improved water and air quality;
- Conserved ground and surface water;
- Increased soil health;
- Reduced soil erosion and sedimentation;
- Improved or created wildlife habitat; and
- Mitigation against drought and increasing weather volatility.
How It Works
NRCS works one-on-one with producers to develop a conservation plan that outlines conservation practices and activities to help solve on-farm resource issues. Producers implement practices and activities in their conservation plan that can lead to cleaner water and air, healthier soil and better wildlife habitat, all while improving their agricultural operations. EQIP helps producers make conservation work for them. Financial assistance for practices may be available through EQIP. Some producers may also qualify for advance payment.
Benefits
Some of these benefits include:
- Reduced contamination from agricultural sources, such as animal feeding operations.
- Efficient use of nutrients, reducing input costs and reduction in nonpoint source pollution.
- Improved soil health, which mitigates against increasing weather volatility, improves drought resiliency and can positively affect climate change.
- Implementation of climate-smart practices that improve carbon sequestration and reduce greenhouse gas emissions while building resilient landscapes.
Conservation at Work Videos
Watch how farmers and ranchers across the country are implementing EQIP practices and other conservation activities in our Conservation at Work video series. For example, see how producers are using the nutrient management conservation practice to improve water quality by more effectively using nutrients.
EQIP Initiatives
Targeted EQIP financial assistance is available through several conservation initiatives. See which initiative is available in your state.
EQIP offers grant opportunities through Conservation Innovation Grants, which awards competitive grants that stimulate the development and adoption of innovative approaches and technologies for conservation on agricultural lands.
Technical Assistance
NRCS offers technical assistance at no cost. Producers can use our personalized advice and information, based on the latest science and research, to make informed decisions about their land.
Technical Service Providers (TSP) can help producers plan, design and implement conservation practices or develop conservation activity plans to improve their agricultural operations. For more information on the Technical Service Provider program, visit the TSP page.
Technical assistance is also offered through our Conservation Technical Assistance (CTA) program.
Need a local Technical Service Provider? Visit the locate a TSP page.
How To Get Started
The first step is to contact your local NRCS office. An NRCS conservation planner will schedule a visit to your property. They will walk the land with you to discuss your goals and review any resource concerns. Following the site visit, the conservation planner will develop a conservation plan that includes a variety of conservation practices or activities to address the resource concerns and management goals discussed.
Applications for NRCS conservation programs are accepted on a continuous basis; however, customers should apply by state-specific ranking dates to be considered for the current funding cycle.
- Find application ranking dates.
- See payment schedules.
- See application.
To learn more about EQIP, contact your local NRCS office at the USDA Service Center in your area.
The USDA Arkansas Farm Service Agency (FSA) is committed to educating producers on available programs and loans. FSA representatives will be available at the following workshops and conferences. Producers interested in attending these conferences/workshops should follow the registration or RSVP instructions listed below.
Sep 20th – Organic Certification Cost Share Program – 3:00-4:00 pm cst
Flower Hill Institute will be hosting “Office Hours” with Farm Service Agency (FSA), to answer questions regarding Organic Certification Cost Share Program. This one-hour Q&A session will be held through Zoom and is open to the general public. Please remember anyone may attend but must preregister. Interested attendees can use the following link to register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYvf-yhrzwqGdZm-xax09sc7Lt0ijUBs8fz
October 26th & 27th - ALCDC Annual Youth Day and Annual Conference
Arkansas Land and Community Development Corporation (ALCDC) is hosting their Annual Youth Day and Annual Conference. The Annual Youth Day will be held Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023, and the Annual Conference will be held Friday, Oct. 27, 2023. Additional Information will be forth coming. Please visit ALCDCs Website for additional information.
The Farm Service Agency (FSA) provides a receipt to customers who request or receive assistance or information on FSA programs.
The 2014 Farm Bill requires a customer receipt to be issued for any agricultural program assistance requested from FSA, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Rural Development (RD). Receipts include the date, summary of the visit and any agricultural information, program and/or loan assistance provided to an individual or entity. Electronic receipts for acreage reports began on Aug. 1, 2016.
A service is any information, program, or loan assistance provided whether through an office visit, email, fax, or letter.
FSA offers direct farm ownership and direct farm operating loans to producers who want to establish, maintain, or strengthen their farm or ranch. Direct loans are processed, approved and serviced by FSA loan officers.
Direct farm operating loans can be used to purchase livestock and feed, farm equipment, fuel, farm chemicals, insurance, and other costs including family living expenses. Operating loans can also be used to finance minor improvements or repairs to buildings and to refinance some farm-related debts, excluding real estate.
Direct farm ownership loans can be used to purchase farmland, enlarge an existing farm, construct and repair buildings, and to make farm improvements.
The maximum loan amount for direct farm ownership loans is $600,000 and the maximum loan amount for direct operating loans is $400,000 and a down payment is not required. Repayment terms vary depending on the type of loan, collateral and the producer's ability to repay the loan. Operating loans are normally repaid within seven years and farm ownership loans are not to exceed 40 years.
Please contact your local FSA office for more information or to apply for a direct farm ownership or operating loan.
The Farm Service Agency (FSA) has several loan programs to help you start or continue an agriculture production. Farm ownership and operating loans are available.
While all qualified producers are eligible to apply for these loan programs, FSA has provided priority funding for members of targeted underserved applicants.
A targeted underserved applicant is one of a group whose members have been subjected to racial, ethnic or gender prejudice because of his or her identity as members of the group without regard to his or her individual qualities.
For purposes of this program, targeted underserved groups are women, African Americans, American Indians, Alaskan Natives, Hispanics, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
FSA loans are only available to applicants who meet all the eligibility requirements and are unable to obtain the needed credit elsewhere.
The term “sodbusting” is used to identify the conversion of land from native vegetation to commodity crop production after December 23, 1985. As part of the conservation provisions of the Food Security Act of 1985, if you’re proposing to produce agricultural commodities (crops that require annual tillage including one pass planting operations and sugar cane) on land that has been determined highly erodible and that has no crop history prior to December 23, 1985, that land must be farmed in accordance with a conservation plan or system that ensures no substantial increase in soil erosion.
Eligibility for many USDA programs requires compliance with a conservation plan or system on highly erodible land (HEL) used for the production of agricultural commodities. This includes Farm Service Agency (FSA) loan, disaster assistance, safety net, price support, and conservation programs; Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) conservation programs; and Risk Management Agency (RMA) Federal crop insurance.
Before you clear or prepare areas not presently under production for crops that require annual tillage, you are required to file Form AD-1026 “Highly Erodible Land Conservation and Wetland Conservation Certification,” with FSA indicating the area to be brought into production. The notification will be referred to NRCS to determine if the field is considered highly erodible land. If the field is considered HEL, you are required to implement a conservation plan or system that limits the erosion to the tolerable soil loss (T) for the predominant HEL soil on those fields.
In addition, prior to removing trees or conducting any other land manipulations that may affect wetlands, remember to update form AD-1026, to ensure you remain in compliance with the wetland conservation provisions.
Prior to purchasing or renting new cropland acres, it is recommended that you check with your local USDA Service Center to ensure your activities will be in compliance with the highly erodible land and wetland conservation provisions.
For additional information on highly erodible land conservation and wetland conservation compliance, contact your local USDA Service Center.
The Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA) requires all foreign owners of U.S. agricultural land to report their holdings to the Secretary of Agriculture. Foreign persons who have purchased or sold agricultural land in the county are required to report the transaction to FSA within 90 days of the closing. Failure to submit the AFIDA form could result in civil penalties of up to 25 percent of the fair market value of the property. County government offices, realtors, attorneys and others involved in real estate transactions are reminded to notify foreign investors of these reporting requirements. The data gained from these disclosures is used in the preparation of periodic reports to the President and Congress concerning the effect of such holdings upon family farms and rural communities. Click here for more information on AFIDA.
USDA announced that it is improving crop insurance options for small and diversified farmers through improvements to the Whole-Farm Revenue Protection (WRFP) and Micro Farm insurance plans. These updates are part of USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) efforts to increase participation and access to crop insurance.
Improvements to WFRP for the 2024 policy year include:
· Allowing all eligible producers to qualify for 80% and 85% coverage levels.
· Allowing producers to purchase catastrophic coverage level policies for individual crops with WFRP.
· Expanding yield history to a 10-year maximum (from 4 years) for all crops not covered by another federal crop insurance policy.
· Making the policy more affordable for single commodity producers.
· Allowing producers to customize their coverage by choosing whether WFRP will consider other federal crop insurance policies as primary insurance when calculating premium and revenue to count during claim time.
Improvements to Micro Farm for the 2024 policy year include:
· Moving the sales closing date to a less busy time of year to help agents dedicate time to marketing the program. This is important specifically for producers that are purchasing Micro Farm for the first time as it provides additional time for agents to assist growers with important risk management decisions.
· Allowing producers to purchase other Federal crop insurance with Micro Farm.
· Allowing vertically integrated entities to be eligible for Micro Farm.
· Making the Expanding Operations feature available with Micro Farm.
About WFRP and Micro Farm:
WFRP and Micro Farm policies provide a risk management safety net for all commodities grown on a farm under one policy. Both policy options were designed to meet the needs of specialty, organic (both crops and livestock), or those marketing to local, regional, farm-identity preserved, specialty, or direct markets. The Micro Farm insurance plan is tailored for any farm with up to $350,000 in approved revenue, and WFRP covers any farm with up to $17 million in insured revenue. RMA introduced Micro Farm in 2021.
Currently, producers hold 1,784 WFRP policies covering $2.17 billion in liabilities, and they hold 93 Micro Farm policies covering $6.15 million in liabilities.
More Information
Crop insurance is sold and delivered solely through private crop insurance agents. A list of crop insurance agents is available at all USDA Service Centers and online at the RMA Agent Locator. Learn more about crop insurance and the modern farm safety net at rma.usda.gov or by contacting your RMA Regional Office.
In order to claim a Farm Service Agency (FSA) payment on behalf of a deceased producer, all program conditions for the payment must have been met before the applicable producer’s date of death.
If a producer earned a FSA payment prior to his or her death, the following is the order of precedence for the representatives of the producer:
- administrator or executor of the estate
- the surviving spouse
- surviving sons and daughters, including adopted children
- surviving father and mother
- surviving brothers and sisters
- heirs of the deceased person who would be entitled to payment according to the State law
For FSA to release the payment, the legal representative of the deceased producer must file a form FSA-325 to claim the payment for themselves or an estate. The county office will verify that the application, contract, loan agreement, or other similar form requesting payment issuance, was signed by the applicable deadline by the deceased or a person legally authorized to act on their behalf at that time of application.
If the application, contract or loan agreement form was signed by someone other than the deceased participant, FSA will determine whether the person submitting the form has the legal authority to submit the form.
Payments will be issued to the respective representative’s name using the deceased program participant’s tax identification number. Payments made to representatives are subject to offset regulations for debts owed by the deceased.
FSA is not responsible for advising persons in obtaining legal advice on how to obtain program benefits that may be due to a participant who has died, disappeared or who has been declared incompetent.
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