In This Issue:
Greetings to all our clients, partners and staff, and happy Earth Month!
At NRCS we are celebrating Earth Month with a push to expand climate-smart agriculture and forestry across the Ocean State. We invite our farmers, forest landowners or managers, oyster growers and urban growers to partner with us to reduce the impacts of climate change, build climate resiliency and strengthen your operations.
Rhode Island farmers, ranchers, growers, and forest landowners have long been stewards of our lands and natural resources. This Earth Month, NRCS re-affirms our commitment to support and partner with you to build resilient food and forest systems to provide for local communities, sequester carbon, and address climate change.
In 2023, Rhode Island NRCS and our partners applied conservation practices impacting over 21,235 acres, including improving soil quality on 885 acres and improving wildlife habitat on 8,182 acres; provided emergency flood relief to local communities; and provided technical or financial assistance to 241 clients. These crucial efforts helped reduce soil erosion, improve water quality and mitigate floods, directly impacting watersheds and communities throughout the state.
Below you will find that we have opened a third signup for many of our flagship programs, and we encourage you to apply for these programs that can help you improve your resources, production and bottom line. I especially urge you to take a look at our Act Now opportunities, which can help replace high-emission diesel farm equipment with electric alternatives, amongst other energy efficiency practices. Learn more at www.RI.nrcs.usda.gov.
R. Phou “Pooh” Vongkhamdy
NRCS Rhode Island State Conservationist
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Jan and Michelle Eckhart are the owners and operators of Sweet Berry Farm in Middletown, Rhode Island. What began as a small farm primarily growing strawberries has turned into a labor of love. In addition to strawberries, the Eckhart's now grow cherries, cane berries, peaches, blackberries, pumpkins and more on their 100-acre farm.
Read more...
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Farmers in all 50 states can now access county specific farming data and USDA resources all in one place via the new farmers.gov local dashboard. Your farmers.gov local dashboard includes farming data and USDA resources including USDA news, commodity pricing, weather forecasts, historical climate data, past storm events, USDA service center locator and additional state resources for your state and county. The dashboard transforms complex data sets into easy-to-read charts and graphs to help you quickly find information that matters to you.
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We’re inviting urban producers, innovative producers, and other stakeholders to virtually attend a public meeting of the Federal Advisory Committee for Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production on April 10 from 2-4 p.m. Eastern.
Meeting details can be viewed in the Federal Register Notice. Written comments can be submitted via UrbanAgricultureFederalAdvisoryCommittee@usda.gov by April 24 at 11:59 p.m. The Committee will deliberate and vote on proposed recommendations and address public comments during the meeting. USDA will share the agenda between 24 to 48 hours prior to the meeting on the Committee’s webpage.
The Committee is managed by the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production and was established through the 2018 Farm Bill and is part of a broad USDA investment in urban agriculture.
Learn more or register.
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USDA has announced that most farm loan borrowers can make payments to their direct loans online through the Pay My Loan feature on Farmers.gov. Pay My Loan is part of a broader effort by USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) to streamline its processes, especially for producers who may have limited time during the planting or harvest seasons to visit a local FSA office; modernize and improve customer service; provide additional customer self-service tools; and expand credit access to assist more producers.
On average, local USDA Service Centers process more than 215,000 farm loan payments each year. Pay My Loan gives most borrowers an online repayment option and relieves them from needing to call, mail, or visit a Service Center to pay their loan installment. Farm loan payments can now be made at the borrower’s convenience, on their schedule and outside of FSA office hours.
Pay My Loan also provides time savings for FSA’s farm loan employees by minimizing manual payment processing activities. This new service for producers means that farm loan employees will have more time to focus on reviewing and processing new loans or servicing requests.
The Pay My Loan feature can be accessed at Farmers.gov. To use the payment feature, producers must establish a USDA customer account and a USDA Level 2 eAuthentication (“eAuth”) account or a Login.gov account. This initial release only allows borrowers operating as individuals to make online payments. For now, borrowers with jointly payable checks will need to continue to make loan payments through their local office.
FSA has a significant initiative underway to streamline and automate the Farm Loan Program customer-facing business process. For the over 26,000 producers who submit a Direct Loan application annually, FSA has made various improvements including:
- The Online Loan Application, an interactive, guided application that is paperless and provides helpful features including an electronic signature option, the ability to attach supporting documents such as tax returns, complete a balance sheet, and build a farm operating plan.
- The Loan Assistance Tool that provides customers with an interactive online, step-by-step guide to identifying the direct loan products that may be a fit for their business needs and to understanding the application process.
- A simplified direct loan paper application, which reduced loan applications by more than half, from 29 pages to 13 pages.
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NRCS announces additional financial assistance opportunities for fiscal year 2024 for Rhode Island farmers and forest landowners under the Farm Bill’s Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), National Water Quality Initiative (NWQI) and Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP).
Through conservation programs, NRCS provides technical and financial assistance to help farmers and forest landowners make conservation improvements on their land to benefit natural resources, build resiliency, and combat the impacts of climate change. While NRCS accepts applications for these programs year-round, farmers and landowners should apply by the May 17, 2024, ranking date to be considered for this year’s additional ranking opportunity.
“NRCS conservation programs are good for Rhode Island’s natural resources and for your operation’s bottom line,” said Phou Vongkhamdy, NRCS State Conservationist in Rhode Island. “Whether this is your first time working with NRCS or you want to take conservation to the next level on your land, we encourage you to contact your local NRCS field office to learn more.” Learn more...
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In support of the Agency focus on customer service and streamlining procedure, Rhode Island NRCS is extending the application deadline for the EQIP-IRA Combustion System & Energy Initiative through the Act Now process to May 17.
NRCS is using the Act Now process to deliver conservation contracting faster. Act Now allows NRCS to quickly approve and obligate a ranked application in a designated ranking pool when an eligible application meets or exceeds a state-determined, minimum threshold, ranking score. Act Now allows qualifying applications to be automatically approved and move forward in the process without waiting for all applications to be ranked during a given period.
Through Act Now, eligible applications will be batched and processed in the order they’re received, with selections made weekly. Applications eligible for the IRA-EQIP Combustion System and Energy Initiative ranking pool will be accepted on a continuous sign-up basis until May 17, 2024, or until funds have been expended. Act Now practices include:
- Combustion System Improvement (CPS 372)
- Pumping Plant (CPS 533)
- Energy Efficient Agricultural Operation (CPS 533)
- Energy Efficient Lighting System (CPS 670)
- Energy Efficient Building Envelope (CPS 672)
Learn more...
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has expanded its Nursery Value Select (NVS) crop insurance program to all counties in all states, and the USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) is encouraging interested nursery producers to learn more about the program through upcoming informational workshops. These sessions will be valuable for producers in the newly expanded areas and especially for the Nursery Field Grown and Container (FG&C) crop insurance program, which ends beginning with the 2026 crop year.
Nursery Value Select is a pilot program that enables nursery producers to select the dollar amount of coverage that best fits their risk management needs. Its expansion is part of RMA’s efforts to provide insurance options for a broader group of producers, including specialty crop producers.
There are three Nursery Value Select workshops - two on April 18, one on July 18. See more details here.
RMA has administered the Nursery FG&C crop insurance program for nearly 30 years. However, the program relies on a partnership between RMA and a private contractor to update and maintain the Eligible Plant List and Plant Price Schedule and associated software packages. The private contractor will be closing after providing all necessary contractual obligations for the 2025 crop year. Without access to the price schedule and associated software, the Nursery FG&C program will no longer be available to nursery producers beginning with the 2026 crop year.
Nursery Value Select will be able to offer comparable but improved risk management options for those who currently have coverage with the Nursery FG&C program, making RMA’s informational workshops a valuable opportunity to learn more about Nursery Value Select and any required transitions.
Prior to the expansion, Nursery Value Select was only available in select counties in Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Michigan, New Jersey, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas and Washington. Beginning with the 2025 crop year, Nursery Value Select will be available in all counties in all states. The sales closing date for the 2025 crop year is May 1, 2024, or Sept. 1, 2024, as provided in the actuarial documents.
Nursery Value Select was first available in the 2021 crop year, and producers insured more than $460 million in liabilities in crop year 2023.
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.
Producers can learn more about crop insurance and the modern farm safety net at rma.usda.gov or by contacting their RMA Regional Office.
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Rhode Island USDA
60 Quaker Lane
Warwick, RI 02886
Rhode Island Farm Service Agency (FSA)
RI FSA County Office, Suite 49: 401-828-3120 Option 1
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County Committee
Joseph Polseno, Chairperson John Sousa, Vice Chairperson
Erin Cabot, Member William Coulter, Member
Gilbert Rathbun Jr., Member Dawn M Spears, SDA Member
The County Committee meets the third Thursday of every month subject to change.
*To confirm meeting dates, please contact the office. *
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RI FSA Farm Loan Team, Suite 62: 401-828-3120 Option 2
RI FSA State Office, Suite 62: 401-828-3120 Option 3
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State Committee
Al Bettencourt, Chairperson Maggie Cole, Member
Albert Brandon, Member Cristina Cabrera, Member
Michelle Garman, Member
The State Committee meets the second Wednesday of every month subject to change.
*To confirm meeting dates, please contact the office. *
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Rhode Island Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
www.RI.nrcs.usda.gov
Risk Management Agency (RMA)
Risk Management Agency: 919-875-4880
USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (866) 632-9992 (Toll-free Customer Service), (800) 877-8339 (Local or Federal relay), (866) 377-8642 (Relay voice users).
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