The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is encouraging agricultural producers and forest landowners in Wisconsin to participate in voluntary conservation programs and adopt climate-smart practices in fiscal year 2024 as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda. USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is accepting applications for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) and Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP), which help a wide variety of producers, including urban and organic producers.
“Whether you measure your farm in square feet or acres, or you farm in the country or in the middle of the city, the Natural Resources Conservation Service has conservation assistance for you,” said Acting State Conservationist for NRCS Wisconsin, Josh Odekirk. “Right now, we are offering a historic amount of funding through both the Farm Bill and the Inflation Reduction Act, so you should apply today. We encourage all who have natural resource concerns, including producers who haven’t worked with us before, to consider applying. A conservation plan and program may be right for your ag operation.”
For fiscal year 2024, NRCS has $3 billion in Inflation Reduction Act funds to invest in climate-smart mitigation activities. This year, NRCS expanded the list of those activities as well as expanded priority areas for ACEP for grasslands, wetlands and farmlands at risk of conversion. Learn more about those expansions in our Sept. 28, 2023 news release.
Additionally, for fiscal year 2024, NRCS has over $2 billion in Farm Bill funding available to producers for priorities like organic and urban agriculture, soil health, water quality and quantity and wildlife habitat development. This extensive amount of funding will be used to meet producer demand for our oversubscribed programs, maximize climate benefits and help producers address their natural resource challenges.
NRCS accepts producer applications for its conservation programs year-round. Producers in Wisconsin interested in fiscal year 2024 funding should apply for EQIP by November 3rd, 2023, apply for ACEP by November 13th, 2023, and producers who are interested in applying for CSP should apply now for an anticipated sign-up announcement early 2024. Producers can apply for funding from both the Farm Bill and the Inflation Reduction Act. In many cases, because of additional flexibilities, applications for eligible practices that meet or exceed state-determined minimum ranking thresholds will automatically be considered for priority funding when applying for EQIP and CSP.
Organic Agriculture
NRCS provides technical and financial assistance for conservation practices that are popular among organic as well as traditional producers, including cover crops, integrated pest management, drip irrigation, high tunnels and rotational grazing. Additionally, for those producers transitioning to organic production, NRCS also provides assistance for a new organic management conservation practice, which was introduced in fiscal year 2023 as part of USDA’s Organic Transition Initiative. The new organic management practice allows flexibility for producers to get the assistance and education they need, such as attending workshops or requesting help from experts or mentors. It supports organic conservation activities and practices required for organic certification and may provide foregone income reimbursement for dips in production during the transition period. Learn more on the NRCS Organic Agriculture webpage.
Source: usda.gov
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Categories: Wisconsin, Business