Red River Valley Association

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Red River Valley Association
U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources
Conservation Service

• Annual Meeting
• Bossier City, Louisiana
• February 19, 2009

Kevin D. Norton Louisiana State Conservationist
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Overview
Ron Hilliard - Oklahoma State Conservationist 100
USDA, Suite 206 Stillwater, OK 74074 Phone
[phone] Email ron.hilliard_at_ok.usda.gov
Kalven Trice Arkansas State Conservationist Room
3416 Federal Office Building 700 West Little
Rock, AR 72201 Phone [phone] Email
kalven.trice_at_ar.usda.gov

• 2008 Conservation Accomplishments
• Farm Bill
• Stimulus Funding

Don Gohmert - Texas State Conservationist 101
South Main Street Temple, TX 7651 Phone (254)
742-9800 Email don.gohmert_at_tx.usda.gov
Kevin Norton - Louisiana State Conservationist 373
7 Government Street Alexandria, LA 71302 Phone
[phone] Email kevin.norton_at_la.usda.gov
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ConservationAccomplishments
WHIP
EQIP
GRP
WRP
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ConservationAccomplishments

• Environmental Quality Incentives Program

• Brush Management 74,000 ac.
• Irrigation Water Mgmt. 16,000 ac.
• Nutrient Management 73,000 ac.
• Pasture/Hay Planting 34,000 ac.
• Prescribed Grazing 211,000 ac.

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ConservationAccomplishments

• Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program

• Wildlife Habitat Management 8,000 ac.
• Prescribed Burning 4,000 ac.
• Tree/Shrub Establishment 50 ac.

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ConservationAccomplishments

• Wetlands Reserve Program

• Wetland Restoration 5,200 ac.
• Wildlife Habitat Mgmt-7,400 ac.
• Tree/shrub Establishment 5,800 ac.

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ConservationAccomplishments

• Grassland Reserve Program

• Pasture/Hay Planting 130 ac.
• Wildlife Habitat Mgmt. 1200 ac.

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2008 Farm Bill
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2002 Farm Bill Highlights

• Over 250 million acres brought
  under conservation contract or easement
• Over 2.7 million conservation practices planned
  or applied through EQIP, AMA, WHIP, and CSP

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2008 Farm Bill Highlights (Became Law on June 18,
2008)

• Increases funding authorization for
• conservation programs ( 4.2 billion increase)
• Focuses on agricultural and forestry working
  lands
• Recognizes agricultural production and
• conservation as compatible goals
• Grants new authorities
• Modifies Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) limits
• Adds/Modifies conservation payment limits
• Expands outreach opportunities

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Actual and Forecast Conservation Program
Expenditures FY 1996-2012
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Hold the presses.Authorized funding does not
always equal appropriated or apportioned funding

• From FYs 2002 through 2007, funding for NRCS
  conservation programs was 2.23 billion dollars
  below authorized levels.
• In FY 2007, the NRCS conservation programs were
  limited to 71.7 of their authorized funding
  levels.

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FY 2007 as an example of funding limits
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Programs Reauthorized

• Small Watershed Rehabilitation Program
• Reauthorized through 2012
• Authorizes 100 million in mandatory funding in
  2009 to be available until expended
• Great Lakes Basin Program for Soil Erosion and
  Sediment Control
• Conservation of Private Grazing Land
• Resource Conservation Development
• Program

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Enhanced Opportunities for Partnership Action on
a Geographic/Watershed Scale

• Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative
  (CCPI) to allow partners to help identify
  conservation areas/issues
• Directs 6 percent of funds or acres in EQIP,
  WHIP, and CStP for targeted conservation
  activities and acres
• Projects will be selected through a competitive
  process of applications submitted by partners
• Projects will be implemented through existing
  program authorities and procedures, including
  producer contracts
• Funds and acres are directed at the State level
• (90 percent) and nationally (10 percent)

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Enhanced Opportunities for Partnership Action on
a Geographic/Watershed Scale

• Agricultural Water Enhancement Program (AWEP)
• Provides option for partnership agreements on a
  regional basis
• Offers EQIP financial and technical assistance to
  assist farmers and ranchers implement
  conservation practices for agricultural water
  conservation and water quality enhancement
  activities
• Contracts may be entered into directly with
  producers to carry out agricultural water
  enhancement activities, or
• Contracts may be entered into directly with
  producers identified through partnership
  agreements developed with entities to carry out
  agricultural water enhancement activities on a
  regional basis

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State Technical Committees

• Extended FACA exemptions to Local Working Groups
• Reduced the required invitee list to
• NRCS, FSA, Forest Service, National Institute of
  Food and Agriculture, State fish and wildlife
  agency, State forester or equivalent state
  official, State water resources agency, State
  department of agriculture, State association of
  soil and water conservation districts,
  agricultural producers, owners of nonindustrial
  private forestland, non profit organizations, and
  agribusiness
• Requires the publication of Standard Operating
  Procedures for the Committee

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Adjusted Gross Income Limitation

• Limits conservation benefits to persons or legal
  entities with average non-farm AGI less than
  1,000,000, unless 2/3 of the average total AGI
  is from farming, ranching, or forestry
• This limit is reduced from the previous 2.5
  million limit
• The limitation may be waived on a case-by-case
  basis if
• Environmentally sensitive land of special
  significance would be protected
• Availability of AGI and Direct Attribution
  software will affect conservation program
  delivery.
• AGI Limitation web-service is expected in
  February 2009
• Direct Attribution development is not likely to
  be completed until spring 2009.

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Historically Underserved Participants

• Applicable to EQIP, CStP, WHIP, AMA, AWEP
• Includes
• Socially Disadvantaged Farmer/Rancher
• Beginning Farmer/Rancher
• Limited Resource Producer
• Indian Tribes
• Socially Disadvantaged and Beginning Farmers and
  Ranchers, and Limited Resource Producers
• Common definitions within programs and across
  agencies
• Payment rates 25, not to exceed 90
• Advance up to 30 for EQIP
• 5 funding set-aside for each group in EQIP
• 5 acreage set-aside for each group in CSP

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Rulemaking and Policy Products

• Statute and Managers Report
• Preamble
• Rule
• Supporting Analysis
• Civil Rights Impact Analysis
• Benefit/Cost Analysis
• Environmental Assessment
• Agency program policy
• Agency program procedures

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Public Comments Rulemaking

• Receiving public comment letters prior to the
  official comment period comments serve as input
  for rules
• Will receive official public comments following
  the publication of rules in the Federal Register
• These comments must be officially responded to in
  the Final Rule
• Made part of the administrative record and
  publically available
• Encourage public participation in writing through
  the public comment process
• Mail, Fax, Email, or
• www.regulations.gov

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2008 NRCS Farm Bill Conservation
Programs (Interim Final Rules Comment Period
Dates)

• Grasslands Reserve Program (comment period closes
  March 23)
• Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program (comment
  period closes March 17)
• Technical Service Provider (comment period
  closes March 17)
• Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program (comment
  period closes March 17)
• Environmental Quality Incentives Program
  (comment period closes March 16)
• Wetland Reserve Program (comment period closes
  March 16)
• The Regional Equity Interim Final Rule (comment
  period closes March 16)
• Agricultural Management Assistance Program
  (comment period closed)
• State Technical Committees (comment period
  closes March 26)
• Agricultural Water Enhancement Program (comment
  period closes March 16)
• Healthy Forest Reserve Program (comment period
  closed)
• Conservation Stewardship Program (interim final
  rule not posted)

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Websites for Posting of Rules

• All rules and notices on the NRCS Farm Bill
  website http//www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/farmbil
  l/2008/index.html
• All regulations and electronic comments are
  posted on http//www.regulations.gov/search/index
  .jsp
• Standard Publications under the Federal Register
• http//www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html

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Stimulus Funding

• Watershed Rehabilitation - 50 Million
• Watershed Operations - 290 Million of which 145
  Million for Floodplain Easements
• Funds Available for Obligation Until September
  30, 2010

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Watershed Rehabilitation

• 11,000 NRCS dams
• constructed in the US
• Over 4,000 of these in
• the Red River Valley
• 1,020 will reach the 50yr
• life span in the next 10yrs

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WatershedRehabilitation
FY 09/Stimulus Funding

• Arkansas 1 Structure
• Louisiana 2 Assessments
• Oklahoma 13 Structures
• Texas - 0

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Watershed Flood Prevention Operations

• Arkansas 2 Dams (Ozan Creek)
• Louisiana 1 Irrigation Project (Red Bayou)
• Oklahoma 8 Dams (Washita Basin)
• Texas 2 Grade Stabilization Structures
  (Choctaw Creek)

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• Questions?

www.la.nrcs.usda.gov