The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS) in New Hampshire announced today that it is opening an application period for NRCS conservation programs resulting from funding provided to the agency under the Inflation Reduction Act.
Interested New Hampshire farm and non-industrial private forest landowners must apply by March 17, 2023, for the agency’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), and Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) offered under this funding allocation.
The new application period comes on the heels of the announcement from Agricultural Secretary Tom Vilsack yesterday. He stated that the Department is being provided $850 million nationally in fiscal year 2023 from the Inflation Reduction Act for programs offered by the agency that impact climate resiliency.
The focus of this signup under the IRA for EQIP and CSP is for voluntary conservation practices that help landowners implement climate-smart agricultural practices. This funding aims to provide direct climate mitigation benefits and expand access to financial and technical assistance for producers to advance conservation on their farm, ranch, or forest land through practices like cover cropping, conservation tillage, wetland restoration, prescribed grazing, nutrient management, tree planting and more.
Given the funding levels for fiscal year 2023, the focus for ACEP Agricultural Land Easements (ACEP-ALE) will prioritize grasslands in areas of highest risk for conversion to non-grassland uses to prevent the release of soil carbon stores. Meanwhile, NRCS will prioritize ACEP Wetland Reserve Easements (ACEP-WRE) for eligible lands that contain soils high in organic carbon.
"While many of our producers have a strong desire to implement climate-smart agricultural practices in New Hampshire, the cost of those measures is difficult as they recover from the impacts of inflation on their operations,” explains Becky Ross NRCS State Conservationist for New Hampshire. “Making changes at the producer level when they are in the red or just at breakeven can be seen as a risk they can’t take right now; this funding will help producers reduce that risk while also having a positive impact on our climate,” she said.
“Producers in New Hampshire had an initial signup for fiscal year 2023 that closed November 30, 2022,” explains Ross, “but this funding allows us to open up another signup period and reach more producers this year.”
The IRA is projected to have a long-term impact with states receiving additional funds to support agricultural producers over the next several years. “These funds will provide economic resiliency to our local food and fiber markets,” Ross said.
For more information:
Landowners interested in protecting, conserving, or restoring the natural resources on their property through technical or financial assistance should contact their local USDA Service Center to begin the conservation planning process.
You can contact your local field office for more information regarding these programs or to apply. General program information is available on the NRCS New Hampshire website New Hampshire | Natural Resources Conservation Service (usda.gov).
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