Conservation Provisions of the 2002 Farm Bill Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002

1. United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service Conservation Provisions of the 2002 Farm Bill Farm Security and RuralInvestment Act of 2002

2. The 2002 Farm Bill • Represents the single most significant commitment of resources toward conservation on private lands in the Nation’s history • Places strong emphasis on the conservation of working lands, ensuring that land remain both healthy and productive

3. Strongest Conservation Provisions “I am pleased that the compromise agreement on the Farm Bill resulted in better balanced commodity loan rates; spending that is no longer front-loaded; and the strongest conservation provisions of any Farm Bill ever passed by Congress.” – President George W. Bush

4. Work Closely with Colleagues “I encourage all of you to…work closely with your colleagues in the field and throughout the Department so that we can put together the best programs that we possibly can based upon this new Farm Bill.” – Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman

5. Conservation Opportunities • The 2002 Farm Bill recognizes the unique challenges of: • Farmers and ranchers who are just beginning their agricultural operations • Those with limited financial resources • American Indian and Alaska Native Tribes who have a special relationship with the U.S. Government

6. Conservation Opportunities (2) • The 2002 Farm Bill: • Focuses on equity in accessing USDA program and services • Provides for voluntary participation • Promotes conservation of natural resources on land under the jurisdiction of an Indian Tribe

7. Conservation Opportunities (3) • Enhancements include: • Flexibility in decision making with most decisions made at the Tribal, State, or local level • Improved programs and services • Streamlined delivery of technical and financial assistance

8. Conservation Opportunities (4) • The Environmental Quality Incentives Program has been made more responsive to customer needs • More flexibility for local decisions • Increased cost-share assistance of up to 90% • Elimination of bid-down provision • Payments made more quickly • Shorter term contracts

9. Conservation Opportunities (5) • Other programs were continued • Wetlands Reserve Program • Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program • Farmland Protection Program • Technical assistance for protecting private grazing land

10. Conservation Opportunities (6) • New programs and provisions • Conservation Security Program • Conservation Innovation Grants • Technical Service Providers

11. 2002 Farm Bill Annual Funding($ million)

12. 2002 Farm Bill Annual Funding($ million) (2)

13. 2002 Farm Bill Annual Funding ($ million) (3)

14. How much conservation was funded in FY-2002? • Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) • NRCS was able to fund over 19,000 applications protecting more than 8.6 million acres of land with the new Farm Bill funding of over $425 million

15. How much conservation was funded in FY-2002? (2) • Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) • NRCS was able to fund over 800 applications protecting about 200,000 acres at a cost of about $274 million

16. How much conservation was funded in FY-2002? (3) • Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP) • NRCS was able to fund over 1,900 applications protecting over 312,000 acres of habitat with the new Farm Bill funding of $15 million

17. EQIP, WRP and WHIP have open sign-ups and applications are accepted continuously

18. Rule Making • USDA is publishing rules on FPP, EQIP, TSP and CSP • The rules explain to the public how the programs are proposed to operate • Rules are open for public comment

19. Rule Making (2) • USDA takes all public comments into consideration in preparing the final rules which will establish the program operation • Information can be found at the NRCS Web site or local office • Please comment!

20. Timetable for Rules

21. Information on NRCS Conservation Programs

22. Conservation Security Program (CSP)

23. CSP Key Points • CSP provides payment for addressing resource concerns on working land • CSP is a resource concern driven program, not conservation practice driven

24. CSP Key Points (2) • Resource concerns include: • Water quality (ground and surface), water quantity • Soil erosion, soil deposition, soil quality • Air quality • Plant suitability, plant condition, plant management • Animal habitat, animal management

25. CSP Key Points (3) • Financially rewards ongoing stewardship on working lands and helps producers increase their level of conservation treatment • Helps owners and operators of agricultural lands maintain conservation practices and install additional practices • CSP must undergo rule making – more information will be available soon

26. Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)

27. EQIP Key Points • Promotes agricultural production and environmental quality as compatible National goals • Provides technical and financial assistance • Applications are accepted throughout the year

28. EQIP Key Points (2) • Uses conservation district locally led process • Provides financial assistance for structural and management practices • Requires an EQIP plan of operations • Cost sharing may pay up to 75% of the costs of structural practices

29. EQIP Key Changes • Dramatically increases program funding • Allows for up to 90% cost-share for limited resource or beginning farmers and ranchers • Allows use of EQIP funds in the first year of the contract • Eliminates animal unit cap on large confined livestock operations

30. EQIP Key Changes (2) • Increases total payment amounts to $450,000 per individual over the life of the Farm Bill • Reduces contract length • Eliminates “bidding down” • Adds air quality as a purpose • Adds non-industrial private forests as eligible land

31. EQIP Key Changes (3) • Requires 60% of funding for practices related to livestock production, including grazing land • Eliminates conservation priority areas • Defines Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plan (CNMP) as a practice for assistance

32. EQIP Key Changes (4) • Allows for an incentive payment to develop a CNMP • Ground and Surface Water Conservation provisions will help farmers improve irrigation, convert to less water-intensive crops, or convert to dryland farming

33. EQIP Conservation Innovation Grants • Will be initiated in fiscal year 2003 after EQIP rule making is final • Are competitive grant awards to stimulate innovative approaches to environmental enhancement and protection, in conjunction with agricultural production

34. EQIP Conservation Innovation Grants (2) • EQIP funds will be available for grants to governmental or non-governmental organizations that leverage Federal funds to implement innovative approaches to conservation • Grant amounts may not exceed 50% of the total cost of each project • Federal agencies may not apply

35. Farmland Protection Program (FPP)

36. FPP Key Points • Provides matching funds to organizations with existing farmland protection programs to purchase conservation easements from landowners to protect topsoil by limiting non-agricultural uses of the land • Landowners retain all rights to use the property for agriculture

37. FPP Key Points (2) • To be eligible, farms or ranches must • Be privately owned and contain at least 50% of prime, unique, or statewide or locally important soil, or a historical or archeological resource • Be owned by landowners who certify that they do not exceed the gross income limitation eligibility requirements • Be subject to a pending offer

38. FPP Key Points (3) • Allows for purchase of perpetual easements • All conservation easements are held by the eligible entity • Is available in all 50 states, the Caribbean Area, and the Pacific Basin Area

39. FPP Key Changes by Statute • Expanded to include non-governmental organizations as eligible entities and farm and ranchland containing historical and archeological sites as eligible land • Allows a State, Tribal, or local government or non-governmental organization to supplement its share of the easement cost through a landowner’s donation, not to exceed 25% of the appraised fair market value of the conservation easement

40. The FPP Rule is out for Public Comment • A proposed rule was published in the Federal Register on Oct. 29, 2002, and is open for public comment • The new program may be called the Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program (FRPP) to distinguish it from the former FPP and better describe the land it seeks to protect

41. The FPP rule is out for public comment (2) • NRCS solicits comments specifically on the following: • FPP name change • FPP standard easement template • Criteria used to select FPP parcels • Final decisions will be published in the final regulation in spring 2003

42. Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP)

43. WRP Key Points • Provides technical and financial assistance to eligible landowners to address wetland, wildlife habitat, soil, water, and related natural resource concerns on private lands in an environmentally beneficial and cost-effective manner

44. WRP Key Points (2) • Goal is to achieve the greatest wetland functions and values along with optimum wildlife habitat on every acre enrolled • At least 70% of each project area will be restored to the original natural condition, to the extent practicable; the remaining 30% may be restored to other than natural conditions

45. WRP Key Points (3) • Three program participation options • 10-year cost-share agreement restorations • 30-year conservation easement restorations • Permanent easement restorations

46. WRP Key Points (4) • Landowners control access, non-developed recreational activities such as hunting and fishing, and the right to lease recreational uses for financial gain • Other uses must be approved by NRCS

47. WRP Key Points (5) • NRCS has enlisted support of National and State level conservation entities to assist with program delivery • Average project cost per acre is about $1,100 for financial assistance; average project size is about 177 acres • 1,274,048 acres currently are enrolled in the program

48. WRP Key Changes by Statute • Allows the Secretary to enroll up to 250,000 acres annually, up to a total of 2,275,000 acres • Adds an exemption to the 12-month ownership requirement for landowners who exercised their right to redemption after foreclosure

49. Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP)

50. WHIP Key Points • Offers opportunities to landowners to improve and protect wildlife habitat on private and Tribal lands (the majority of land in U.S.) • Provides cost-share payments under 5- to 10-year agreements for upland, wetland, riparian, and aquatic wildlife habitats