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U.S. Department of Agriculture Structure and Programs

U.S. Department of Agriculture Structure and Programs. Roberta Parry EPA Office of Water May 19, 2011. USDA Organization Chart. USDA 2011 Budget. USDA and Conservation. Voluntary Financial and technical assistance ~ $5 billion a year Working lands or land retirement

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U.S. Department of Agriculture Structure and Programs

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  1. U.S. Department of AgricultureStructure and Programs Roberta Parry EPA Office of Water May 19, 2011

  2. USDA Organization Chart

  3. USDA 2011 Budget

  4. USDA and Conservation • Voluntary • Financial and technical assistance • ~ $5 billion a year • Working lands or land retirement • Cross-Compliance for Commodity Programs • Conservation Compliance on Highly Erodible Land • Swampbuster/Sodbuster

  5. Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Organization • National Headquarters • National Policy • State Offices • State Conservationist • State Technical Committees • provide information, analysis, and recommendations on implementation, priorities and criteria for natural resources conservation • Request membership through the State Conservationist -- interest and relevant credentials • District Conservationists (county-level) • Local Working Groups • recommendations on local natural resource priorities and criteria for conservation activities

  6. USDA Conservation ProgramsWorking Lands - NRCS • Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) • Cost-share up to 75% for conservation practices • 1-10 year contracts • Structural and management practices • $1 billion annually • By law, 60% must be used for livestock production • Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) • Stimulate development and adoption of innovation conservation approaches, not research • Annual competitive grants at national and state levels • Eligibility: government, NGOs, individuals • 50% matching requirement (25% can be in-kind) • ~$25 million in FY 2011

  7. USDA Conservation ProgramsWorking Lands - NRCS • Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) • Payments for • Management and maintenance of existing conservation systems. • Adding additional conservation practices. • Eligibility, ranking, payment based on addressing state priority resource concerns • soil quality, soil erosion, water quality, water quantity, air quality, plant resources, and animal resources, energy • Funding: ~ $1 billion/year • Acreage: 12.8 million acres/year • 5-year contracts, potentially renewable • Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative (CCPI) • special local and regional projects with farmers, ranchers, NGOs, states, tribes, etc. • ~$100 million/yr, 6% of EQIP, CSP, and WHIP • Example: Mississippi River Basin Initiative

  8. NRCSConservation Practice Standards • ~170 national standards • Basis of EQIP funding and technical assistance. • NRCS state offices develop state versions • Can be more restrictive, specific • Key Nutrient Practices 590 – Nutrient Management 391 – Riparian forest buffer 633 – Waste Utilization 634 – Waste Transfer 340 - Cover Crops 592 – Feed Management 393 – Filter Strip 355 – Well Water Testing

  9. USDA Land Retirement Programs Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) NRCS • permanent or 30 year easements • ~150,000 acres/year • Raised cap to 3.041 million acres (from 2.275 m acres) Farm Services Agency (FSA) Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) • Plant long-term resource-conserving covers to improve water quality, control soil erosion, and enhance wildlife habitat. • 10 to 15 year contracts • 32 million acre cap (down from 39.2 m acres) • General sign-up = bids based on national environmental index • Continuous sign-ups for “highly desirable environmental practices”: filter strips, grassed waterways, riparian buffers, public wellhead areas Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) • Federal partnership with states, NGOs

  10. Farm Services Agency (FSA) Organization • Farm commodity, credit, conservation, disaster, loan, and price support programs • HQ - Conservation • CRP regulations • Environmental Benefits Index • CRP sign-up decisions • State Offices • State Committees, appointed by USDA • County Offices • Elected farmer county committees • administer programs, provide policy guidance and determine who meets eligibility requirements for programs

  11. National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) • Formula funding -- state land grant universities, research stations. • Competitive research grants, includes Water Program. • Priorities: global food security and hunger, climate change sustainable energy, childhood obesity, food safety • FY 2012 proposed budget: $1.2 billion • research and education - $701 million • extension activities - $467 million • Cooperative Extension System • nationwide, non-credit educational network • state offices at land grant universities, local or regional offices • federal, state, and local funding • eXtension website http://www.extension.org/

  12. Other USDA Agencies • Agriculture Research Service • USDA in-house research arm, 100 research locations • 1,200 research projects within 22 National Programs • ~$1 billion a year • National Agricultural Statistics Service • Census of Agriculture • Economic Research Service • Rural Development • Water/waste disposal loans, loan guarantees, and grants (<10,000 pop.)

  13. USDA’s Conservation Effects Assessment Project(CEAP) Goals • Quantify environmental effects of conservation practices/programs at the watershed scale • New Vision: Integrate science into management of agricultural watersheds National Components • Cropland: water quality/quantity, soil quality modeling • Grazing Lands • Wildlife Habitat • Wetlands – ecosystem services Watersheds • Synthesis of CSREES (now NIFA) watershed research • Quantify effects of conservation practices at the watershed scale. • Validate models and quantify uncertainties. • Tools to optimize selection and placement of practices in a watershed. • Some projects have socio-economic and outreach components.

  14. CEAP Literature Reviews • Bibliography—7 volumes • Environmental Effects • Barriers and Incentives • Environmental Credit Trading • Reviews and the State of the Art and Research Needs. • Grazing Lands • Wetlands in Agricultural Landscapes • Effects of Agricultural Conservation Practices on Fish and Wildlife • Dynamic Bibliography • Web-based search engine • http://www.nal.usda.gov/wqic/Bibliographies/ceap-scholarly.shtml • Literature Reviews • Cropland, fish and wildlife • Coming soon: wetlands, grazing

  15. Farm Bill §1619 • Any USDA employee/cooperator shall not disclose  • information provided by an agricultural producer or land owner about the land, farm operation, or conservation practices  • GIS information • Exceptions • technical/financial assistance w/ consent • disease or pest threat • aggregate information • payment information

  16. Contact Information Roberta Parry EPA – Office of Water Senior Agriculture Advisor (202) 564-0508 parry.roberta@epa.gov

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