Agricultural and Food Policy
Conservation Government Program Resources
 The
Conservation home page is designed to provide Arkansas producers with
information and links on conservation programs provided by the Natural Resource
Conservation Service (NRCS), state agencies, Foundations, and other
organizations offering conservation programs in the state of Arkansas.
NRCS:
National,
Arkansas,
Other States
Conservation Programs FAQs
Q. What is the Conservation Reserve Program?
A. The
Conservation Reserve Program reduces soil erosion, protects the Nation's
ability to produce food and fiber, reduces sedimentation in streams and lakes,
improves water quality, establishes wildlife habitat, and enhances forest and
wetland resources it encourages farmers to convert highly erodible cropland or
other environmentally sensitive acreage to vegetative cover, such as tame or
native grasses, wildlife plantings, trees, filterstrips, or riparian buffers.
Farmers receive an annual rental payment for the term of the multi-year
contract. Cost sharing is provided to establish the vegetative cover practices.
Q. What is the Conservation Security Program?
A. The
Conservation Security Program CSP is a voluntary program that provides
financial and technical assistance to promote the conservation and improvement
of soil, water, air, energy, plant and animal life, and other conservation
purposes on Tribal and private working lands. Working lands include cropland,
grassland, prairie land, improved pasture, and range land, as well as forested
land that is an incidental part of an agriculture operation.
Q. What is the Emergency Conservation
Program?
A. The Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) provides financial assistance to
farmers and ranchers for the restoration of farmlands on which normal farming
operations have been impeded by natural disasters. ECP also helps with funds for
carrying out emergency water conservation measures during periods of severe
drought. Emergency conservation assistance is available for removing debris and
restoring permanent fences, terraces, diversions, irrigation systems, and other
conservation installations. Conservation problem that existed before a disaster
are not eligible.
Q. What is the Emergency
Watershed Protection Program?
A. The
Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) program is designed to reduce threats
to life and property in the wake of natural disasters. It provides technical and
cost sharing assistance. Assistance includes both removing and establishing
vegetative cover; gully control, installing streambank protection devices;
removing debris and sediment; and stabilizing levees, channels, and gullies. In
subsequent storms, EWP projects protect homes, businesses, highways and public
facilities from further damage. The Secretary of Agriculture may purchase
floodplain easements under EWP.
Q. What is the Environmental
Quality Incentives Program?
A. The
Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) addresses locally
identified problems with natural resources. High priority is given to assistance
where agricultural improvements will help meet water quality objectives.
EQIP offers contracts that provide incentive payments and cost sharing for
conservation practices, such as manure management systems, pest management,
erosion control, and other practices to improve and maintain the health of
natural resources.
Q. What is the Farm and Ranch Lands
Protection Program?
A. The
Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program provides funds to help purchase
development rights to keep productive farmland in use. Working through existing
program, USDA joins with State, tribal, or local government to acquire
conservation easements or other interests from landowners. USDA provides up to
50 percent of the costs of purchasing the easements. To qualify, farmland must:
be part of a pending offer from a State, tribe, or local farmland protection
program; be privately owned; have a conservation plan; be large enough to
sustain agricultural production; be accessible to markets for what the land
produces; have adequate infrastructure and agricultural support services; and
have surrounding parcels of land that can support long-term agricultural
production.
Q. What is the Grassland Reserve Program?
A. The
Grassland Reserve Program helps landowners restore and protect grassland,
rangeland, pastureland, shrubland and certain other lands and provides
assistance for rehabilitating grasslands. The program will conserve vulnerable
grasslands from conversion to cropland or other uses and conserve valuable
grasslands by helping maintain viable ranching operations.
Q. What is the Wetlands Reserve Program?
A. The
Wetlands Reserve Program is a voluntary program to restore wetlands.
Participating landowners can establish conservation easements of either
permanent or 30-year duration or can enter restoration cost-share agreements
where no easement is involved. In exchange for establishing a permanent
easement, the landowner receives payment up to the agricultural value of the
land and 100 percent of the restoration costs for restoring the wetland. The
30-year easement payment is 75 percent of what would be provided for a permanent
easement on the same site and 75 percent of the restoration cost. The voluntary
agreements are for a minimum 10-year duration and provide for 75 percent of the
cost of restoring the involved wetlands. Easements set limits on how the lands
may be used in the future. Restoration cost-share agreements establish wetland
protection and restoration as the primary land use for the duration of the
agreement. In all instances, landowners continue to control access to their
land.
Q. What is the Wildlife Habitat
Incentives Program
A. The
Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program provides financial incentives to
develop habitat for fish and wildlife on private lands. Participants agree to
implement a wildlife habitat development plan and USDA agrees to provide
cost-share assistance for the initial implementation of wildlife habitat
development practices. USDA and program participants enter into a cost-share
agreement for wildlife habitat development. This agreement generally lasts a
minimum of 5 years from the date that the contract is signed.
NRCS
News
Information For
Programs
Technical Resources
Features
Global Soil Maps
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Global Soil Regions |
Soil Moisture Regimes |
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Soil Temperature Regimes |
Soil Inorganic Carbon |
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Wetlands |
Water Holding Capacity |
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Back to Agricultural
and Food Policy Compiled by Robert Coats, Ph.D.,
Agricultural Policy Analyst
Questions or Comments to
rcoats@uaex.edu
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