NRCS Small Farm Program

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NRCSSmall Farm Program

• Program Manager
• Adolfo Perez
• 202-720-1853
• adolfo.perez_at_usda.gov
• Web-site www.nrcs.usda.gov

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About the Natural Resources Conservation Service

• NRCS puts nearly 70 years of experience to work
  in assisting owners of America's private land
  with conserving their soil, water, and other
  natural resources. Local, state and federal
  agencies and policymakers also rely on our
  expertise. We deliver technical assistance based
  on sound science and suited to a customer's
  specific needs. Cost shares and financial
  incentives are available in some cases. Most work
  is done with local partners. Our partnership with
  local conservation districts serves almost every
  county in the nation, and the Caribbean and
  Pacific Basin. Participation in our programs is
  voluntary.

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Our Mission!

• The Natural Resources Conservation Service
  provides leadership in a partnership effort to
  help people conserve, maintain, and improve our
  natural resources and environment.

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Our Vision

• Harmony between people and the land  

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NRCS Role Purposeof the Small Farm Program

• To ensure that NRCS programs are administered in
  a way that enables small farmers maintain and
  develop economic viability in farm operations to
  ensure NRCS technical assistance programs and
  activities reach small farmers and ranchers and
  that technical practices and information are
  relevant to the needs of these farmers and
  ranchers.

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Definition of a small farm!

• A farms with less than 250,000 gross receipts
  annually, on which day-to-day labor and
  management are provided by the farmer and/or the
  farm family that owns the production or owns, or
  leases, the productive assets".
• Which is 94 of all farms. 

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• A Limited Resource Farmer or Rancher
• is an individual directly or indirectly with
  gross farm sales not more than 100,000, and
• Has a total household income at or below national
  poverty level for a family of four, or has less
  than 50 of county median household income, in
  each of the previous two years. LRF/R make up
  about 16.7 of all farmers and ranchers
• A Beginning Farmer or Rancher
• means an individual or entity who has not
  operated a farm or ranch, or who has operated a
  farm or ranch for not more than 10 consecutive
  years. 
• Currently have about 1.9 million operator of
  those 32 have less than 10 years according to
  1997 census

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NRCS Programs!

• Conservation Reserve Program (Farm Service
  Agency)
• Conservation of Private Grazing Lands
• Conservation Security Program 
• Conservation Technical Assistance
• Emergency Watershed Protection
• Environmental Quality Incentives Program
• Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program
• Forestry Incentives Program
• Grassland Reserve Program
• Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative
•  

• Resource Conservation and Development
• Rural Abandoned Mine Program
• Soil Survey Programs
• Snow Survey and Water Supply Forecasting
• Stewardship Incentive Program (Forest Service)
• Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention
• Watershed Rehabilitation
• Wetlands Reserve Program
• Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program

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Programs

• Conservation Technical Assistance
• (CTA)
• Resource Conservation and Development
• (RCD)
• Environmental Quality Incentives Program
• (EQIP)

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NRCS Social Sciences Institute Resources and
Web-site

• Kathie M. Starkweather
• USDA/NRCS Sociologist
• Lincoln, NE 402-437-4098

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Available Tools for Outreach and Diversity

• http//www.ssi.nrcs.usda.gov/
• Guidebook Reaching Out to Minority Farmers
• Working with People of Different Cultures
• Working with Asian and Hispanic Limited Resource
  Producer
• How to improve Diversity on your Team
• Social and Professional Skills too be Effective
  with Small Farmers
• Social Profile
• Gaining Trust with Small Farmers
• Barriers and Strategies for Small-Scale Products
• ALL SSI Publications
• http//www.ssi.nrcs.usda.gov/publications/index.ht
  mlMI003

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Questions