NRCS

(SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT)

Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) Home

Thank you NRCS for helping to make the SWCD such a valuable asset to Vanderburgh County Taxpayers. You provide us office space, long distance telephone service, most of our supplies and assist us in most projects. Vanderburgh County also appreciates all the federal money you bring in the county to assist our farmers and landowners.

This agency provides technical assistance, through SWCDs, to landowners in the conservation and management of natural resources. Each SWCD is serviced by NRCS District Conservationist (DC) located within the district office. The DC is the primary point of
contact for USDA conservation programs. Most landowners will talk to the DC to find out about conservation work under the Farm Bill. The DC will make the initial farm visit and work with the owner or operator to develop a conservation plan and other materials needed for each Farm Bill conservation program.

Then when it is time to survey and design conservation practices, specialist that are members of a "Technical
Service Team" (TST) get involved. A TST Leader coordinates and schedules staff members as needed to complete, survey, design and layout work in multiple counties. The TST members assisting landowners in
Vanderburgh County will eventually be headquartered in Washington, IN, and may not have met the landowners they work with previously. These technical specialist include engineers and technicians armed with high-tech equipment, and will be assigned to jobs and locations where they will be the most proficient.

"This organizational structure should give us the flexibility to respond to even the heaviest workloads
locations in an effective and efficient manner," says Vanderburgh County District Conservationist Darrell
Rice. " We want to continue to provide timely, high quality assistance to our program participants. The Technical Services Team will be a real asset to the farmers in this county who are ready to utilize the
conservation programs of the 2002 Farm Bill."

Conservation Securities Program (CSP) WILL mean big bucks to local farmers!

The following information was taken from the Natural Resources Conservation Service web site. Please read this information carefully and visit the web site listed at the bottom. DO NOT let this opportunity pass you by for it will be coming to a watershed near you!

The privately-owned land impacted by the new program covers nearly 1.9 million acres in the 18 watersheds in 22 states selected for the fiscal year 2004 CSP sign-up. USDA expects to fully use the $41 million provided by Congress for this program.

Payments will begin immediately under three tiers of conservation contracts capped at $20,000, $35,000 and $45,000 annually. Contracts will last for five years for Tier I and 5-10 years for Tier II and Tier III.

Enrollment data show that 37 percent of the applicants qualify for Tier I, 40 percent for Tier II and 23 percent for Tier III. The sign-up response indicates that some of the best conservationists are willing to do even more conservation through CSP Environmental enhancement activities offered by applicants include improving
soil quality, water quality, wildlife habitat management, nutrient and pest management, air quality manage- ment and on-farm energy management.

NRCS' self-assessment workbook helped producers identify whether their agricultural operation met sign-up requirements and addressed minimum soil and water quality criteria. By going through the self-assessment, producers analyzed their eligibility and learned what specific documentation to bring to their CSP inter-
view at their local NRCS office. This process marked a new beginning in NRCS client relationships by giving control of the application process to the landowner. About 4,800 producer contacts were registered at local NRCS offices and USDA Service Centers during the first sign-up that ended July 30, 2004.

CSP will be available each year on a rotational basis in as many watersheds as funding allows. Additional information on CSP is at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/csp.

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