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September 2022
In this month's newsletter you'll find farmland preservation success stories, grant opportunities, and more.
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Conservation Roundup
Milestone for Skagit County Farmland Protection
Skagit County closed on the Johnson Farm easement in August. The farm represents the 190th farmland property to be permanently protected through the County’s Farmland Legacy Program. The program has now protected more than 14,000 acres of farmland across the county. The 57-acre Johnson farm has a long history of growing a diversity of crops, including tulips, iris, and daffodils.
The protected property is owned by Joyce Johnson, who expressed her commitment to the viability of local agriculture by protecting her family farm into perpetuity. “My brothers and uncle were farmers, but they never owned their land. They would be so happy to know that I own this land. And now it’s protected.” She adds, “My dad would be so happy to know about this news.”
“Ms. Johnson’s decision not only honors her forbearers but allows for future generations to farm this highly productive and irreplaceable farmland,” says Commissioner Ron Wesen, who represents the northwest district of Skagit County.
The Johnson farm has been leased since 1979 to the Roozen family, owners of the Washington Bulb Company, one of the nation’s largest producers of tulip bulbs. Ms. Johnson’s husband Stan Johnson, deceased, and his family farmed the land prior to the Roozens.
Read the press release to learn more.
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Resources
New Agricultural Conservation Easement Program Resources Available
USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service and the American Farmland Trust (AFT) are unveiling new Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) resources that guides entities through the Agricultural Land Easements acquisitions process. The new resources include two new factsheets that explain the NRCS Minimum Deed Terms:
The new factsheets join a suite of additional online resources developed to help landowners and entities through ACEP- ALE’s application process. They can be accessed through AFT’s Farmland Information Centers publications page.
Census of Agriculture Coming this November
America’s farmers and ranchers will soon have the opportunity to be represented in the nation’s only comprehensive and impartial agriculture data for every state, county and territory. USDA will mail the 2022 Census of Agriculture to millions of agriculture producers across the 50 states and Puerto Rico this fall. Collected in service to American agriculture since 1840 and now conducted every five years by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), the Census of Agriculture tells the story and shows the value of U.S. agriculture. It highlights land use and ownership, producer characteristics, production practices, income and expenditures, among other topics. Changes to the 2022 questionnaire include new questions about the use of precision agriculture, hemp production, hair sheep, and updates to internet access questions.
Taxpayer Education and CRP TIP Outreach
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing in two outreach and education efforts for farmers and ranchers, including those who are new to farming or who have been historically underserved by USDA programs. USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is investing $10 million for agriculture-oriented taxpayer education as well as $4.5 million in outreach for the Conservation Reserve Program’s Transition Incentives Program (CRP TIP), which helps with access to land for beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers. Both efforts help advance equity and access to USDA programs and agriculture.
“Running a farm operation is tough, and we are working to help meet gaps where farmers need assistance,” said Deputy Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation Gloria Montaño Greene. “First, filing taxes for an agricultural operation can be challenging and many agricultural producers may not have the funds to hire accountants or tax professionals to assist, especially for new and historically underserved producers. This new initiative offers support to producers in navigating tax season. Second, we want to make sure producers are aware of our many program options, and Conservation Reserve Program Transition Incentives Program (CRP TIP) provides a unique opportunity for producers with expiring CRP land to help bring new farmers into the fold.” Read the rest of the announcement here.
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Funding Opportunities
Land, Capital, and Market Access
USDA launched the Increasing Land, Capital, and Market Access (Increasing Land Access) Program to help underserved producers by increasing land, capital, and market access. The program will fund cooperative agreements or grants for projects that help move underserved producers from surviving to thriving.
Land access is critical to the success of agriculture. Underserved producers have not received the amount of specialized technical support that would benefit the launch, growth, resilience, and success of their agricultural enterprises. The Increasing Land Access Program is intended to address this problem by increasing access to farm ownership opportunities, increasing access and improving results for those with heirs’ property or fractionated land, increasing access to markets and capital that affect the ability to access land, and increasing land ownership, land succession, and agricultural business planning.
Eligible applicants can apply through grants.gov, and must submit their applications by 11:59 p.m. eastern time on October 28, 2022. USDA anticipates making selections by late fall 2022 and awarding funds by January 2023. Program questions can be directed to Land.Access@usda.gov.
Western SARE Farmer/Rancher Research & Education Grant Program
The Western SARE Farmer/Rancher Research & Education Grant Program focuses on advancing on-farm sustainability solutions by funding innovative producer-driven research and outreach. This grant program involves agricultural producers (main applicants) and technical advisor(s) implementing projects to address identified needs in sustainable agriculture. Projects with 1-2 producers may apply for up to $25,000 and projects with 3 or more producers working together may apply for up to $29,900.
Proposals are due Nov. 2, 2022. Visit here for more information.
New RCPP Funding Through the Inflation Reduction Act
The Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law by President Biden on August 16, makes a historic investment in the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). Almost $5 billion in new RCPP funding is included in the law for fiscal years 2023 to 2026. USDA will be releasing more information on how NRCS intends to put this funding to work with partners and eligible producers and landowners.
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Events
NRCS-WA To Host FY 2023 ACEP-ALE Kickoff Workshop
The Natural Resources Conservation Service in Washington (NRCS-WA) is hosting an informational workshop Oct. 5, 2022 in preparation for the Fiscal Year 2023 Agricultural Conservation Easement Program – Agricultural Land Easements (ACEP-ALE) sign up.
Through ACEP-ALE, NRCS provides financial assistance to eligible partners for purchasing perpetual Agricultural Land Easements that protect the agricultural use and conservation values of eligible land.
Workshop panelists will discuss ACEP-ALE basics from application to closing, as well as program nuances for Fiscal Year 2023, including the new application sign-up deadline, an overview of the updated ALE application packets and submission procedures, and the anticipated FY23 program timeline.
The workshop will be held via Microsoft Teams. Registration is not required. To access the event, follow the workshop link below.
Date: Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2022 Time: 9 to 11:30 a.m. Platform: Microsoft Teams Workshop Link: Click here to join the meeting
USDA Equity Commission Meeting
The third public meeting of the Equity Commission (EC) and its Agriculture Subcommittee and Rural Community Economic Development Subcommittee will be held September 21-22, 2022. The public may attend via Zoom. Please complete the registration form to receive a link to attend the meeting. Link to Registration
The work of the Equity Commission will empower USDA to objectively confront the hard reality of past discrimination and its lingering harm; helping USDA build back better, and serve our customers more fairly and equitably. For more information on members, visit: www.usda.gov/equity-commission.
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Job Announcements
Farmland Protection Program Director
Operations and Finance Manager
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Agriculture in the News
Farmland
Specialty Crops
Water
Markets
Other States
Federal
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