|
Natural Resource
Conservation Service
(NRCS)
Thank you
NRCS
for helping to make the
SWCD
such
a valuable asset to Vanderburgh County Taxpayers.
You
provide us office space by paying the rent, 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 care-
fully 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!
WASHINGTON, Aug. 26,
2004 –- Agriculture Secretary Ann
M. Veneman said today that nearly 2,200 farmers
and ranchers
have been selected as the first participants in
the Conservation
Security Program (CSP). The privately-owned land
impacted by
the new program covers nearly 1.9 million acres
in the 18 water-
sheds 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 management
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.
Top of Page
|
