USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Launches ‘Farmer First, Field Focused’ Pilot in Nine States

USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) announced that its new “Farmer First, Field Focused” pilot program is being rolled out in nine states: Hawaii, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, South Dakota, Utah and West Virginia. The service model emphasizes conservation planning prior to financial assistance. Producers will first work one-on-one with NRCS to develop conservation plans based on their natural resource concerns and goals. States will establish and communicate funding priorities developed with local input, and the ranking process is being replaced with a new, streamlined evaluation process. NRCS explains that with this new model, NRCS field office technical staff will focus solely on conservation planning, while program specialists will manage contracts, payments, and administrative tasks.