Pennsylvania NRCS Programs

NRCS's natural resources conservation programs help people reduce soil erosion, enhance water supplies, improve water quality, increase wildlife habitat, and reduce damages caused by floods and other natural disasters. Public benefits include enhanced natural resources that help sustain agricultural productivity and environmental quality while supporting continued economic development, recreation, and scenic beauty.

                            Farm Bill/Conservation Programs                        Program News

                            Watershed Programs                                             Program Accomplishments  

                            Soil Survey Programs                                            Forms

                            PA Farm Bill Programs Brochure  (PDF)              2009 Payment Schedule (PDF)     

                            Pennsylvania Conservation Programs                  RC&D 
                            Handout

Is a Conservation Plan Right for YOU? Conservation Technical Assistance (CTA)

Through Conservation Technical Assistance, NRCS assists landowners and land users, communities, units of state and local government, Tribes, and other Federal agencies in planning and implementing conservation systems.

The first step in seeking NRCS assistance is to call your local USDA Service center and make an appointment with NRCS staff that will help you identify the natural resource problems and opportunities on your farm, define your conservation objectives, and inventory your soil, water, air, plant and animal resources. Much of this information will require a field visit to see your operation and to evaluate the resource concerns you may have. You can work with NRCS to develop a conservation plan. Financial assistance from NRCS farm bill programs or other Federal, State and local conservation programs may be available to help fund some of the conservation practices outlined in your plan.

See the links below for detailed information on programs Pennsylvania NRCS has to offer.
 

Farm Bill Programs

Agricultural Management Assistance (AMA)

AMA provides cost share assistance to agricultural producers to address issues such as water management, water quality, and erosion control by incorporating conservation into their farming operations. Producers may construct or improve water management structures or irrigation structures; plant trees for windbreaks or to improve water quality; and mitigate risk through production diversification or resource conservation practices, including soil erosion control, integrated pest management, or transition to organic farming. In 2009, Pennsylvania will be targeting AMA to installation of Irrigation Systems and to implementation of Integrated Pest Management systems.
 

Chesapeake Bay Watershed Initiative (CBWI) NEW!

Initiative funding is available to eligible agricultural producers within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed to assist with voluntary implementation of beneficial conservation practices to address soil erosion, sedimentation, and excess nutrients in streams and waterways; as well as other related natural resource concerns such as air quality, wetlands, wildlife habitat, and forestry.
 

Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative (CCPI)

CCPI is a voluntary conservation Initiative that enables the use of certain conservation programs with resources of eligible partners to provide financial assistance to owners and operators of agricultural and nonindustrial forestlands.

Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP)

CRP and CREP provide technical and financial assistance to eligible farmers and landowners to address soil, water, wildlife, and related natural resource concerns on their lands in an environmentally beneficial and cost-effective manner. The programs provide assistance in complying with Federal, State, and tribal environmental laws, and encourages environmental enhancement. Both programs are administered by the Farm Service Agency, with NRCS providing support for practice implementation. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Game Commission provide additional funding for CREP. Eligibility varies by soil type and crop history. Land is accepted into program if bid qualifies.
 

Conservation Security Program (CSP)

CSP has helped operators of agricultural lands maintain conservation stewardship and implement and maintain additional needed conservation practices. The conservation benefits gained will keep farms and ranches more sustainable and profitable and improve natural resources. Under the 2008 Farm Bill, new sign-ups for CSP are no longer available, but the new Conservation Stewardship Program (CStP) is expected to be available for sign-ups starting in 2009.
 

Conservation Stewardship Program (CStP) - Coming Soon!

Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)

EQIP provides technical and financial help to landowners for conservation practices that protect soil and water quality.
Grassed waterways, stream fencing, critical area planting, terraces, manure management systems including storage structures and barnyard runoff protection, and many other conservation practices are eligible for EQIP. Projects are selected based on environmental value.

Contracts run for 1-10 years. Ag producers may be eligible for financial assistance. Public Access is not required. Contact your local NRCS office, or the local Land Conservation Department.
 

Farm and Ranch Land Protection Program (FRPP)

The Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program (FRPP) helps keep productive land in agriculture. The Program provides matching funds to State, Tribal, non-profit, or local government entities with existing programs that protect farmland through the purchase of conservation easements or development rights. Individual landowners participate voluntarily and retain all rights to use the property for agriculture. Projects are selected through a competitive application process.

Eligible land includes privately owned working farms with productive soils that have a pending offer for purchase of development rights from an eligible entity. Location, size, and existing protections, such as zoning, must support long-term agricultural use. Easements must be permanent. Local programs are reimbursed up to 50% of the cost of the easement. Public Access is not required.
 

Grasslands Reserve Program (GRP)

When properly managed, grasslands can result in cleaner, healthier streams, and reduced sediment loads in water bodies. These lands are vital for the production of livestock forage and provide forage and habitat for maintaining healthy wildlife populations. They also add to the beauty of the landscape, provide scenic vistas and open space, provide for recreational activities and protect the soil from water and wind erosion.
 

Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP)

WHIP can develop or improve wildlife habitat on privately owned land through installation of in-stream structures, providing brush management and control of invasive species. Almost any type of land is eligible, including ag and non-ag lands.
 

Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP)

WRP is to restore wetlands previously altered for agricultural use. Landowners may restore wetlands with permanent or 30-year easements or 10-year contracts. Permanent easements pay 100% of the agricultural value of the land and 100% cost-sharing; 30-year easements pay 75% of the agricultural value and 75% cost-sharing; 10-year contract pays 75% cost-share only.

Permanent or 30-year easements recorded with property deed. Ten-year contract is not recorded with deed. Public Access is not required.

Watershed Programs

The Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act (PL 83-566), as amended, authorized NRCS to cooperate with States and local agencies to restore watersheds from damage caused by soil erosion, floodwater, and sediment, to conserve and develop water and land resources, and solve natural resource problems on a watershed basis. The program provides technical and financial assistance to local people or project sponsors, builds partnerships, and requires local and state funding contribution.

NRCS implements the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act through three programs:

-  Watershed Surveys and Planning
-  Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Operations
-  Watershed Rehabilitation

Click here to learn more about our Watershed Programs.

Emergency Watershed Program (EWP)

The purpose of the Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) program is to undertake emergency measures, including the purchase of flood plain easements, for runoff retardation and soil erosion prevention to safeguard lives and property from floods, drought, and the products of erosion on any watershed whenever fire, flood or any other natural occurrence is causing or has caused a sudden impairment of the watershed.

Soil Survey Programs

The National Cooperative Soil Survey Program (NCSS) is a partnership led by NRCS of Federal land management agencies, state agricultural experiment stations and state and local units of government that provide soil survey information necessary for understanding, managing, conserving and sustaining the nation's limited soil resources.

Soil surveys provide:

-  An orderly, on-the-ground, scientific inventory of soil resources that includes maps showing the locations and extent of soils, data about the physical and chemical properties of those soils, and information derived from that data about potentialities and problems of use on each kind of soil in sufficient detail to meet all reasonable needs for farmers, agricultural technicians, community planners, engineers, and scientists in planning and transferring the findings of research and experience to specific land areas.

-  The basic information needed to manage soil sustainably.

-  Information needed to protect water quality, wetlands, and wildlife habitat.

-  A basis to help predict the effect of global climate change on worldwide agricultural production and other land-dependent processes.

-  The basis for predicting the behavior of a soil under alternative uses, its potential erosion hazard, potential for ground water contamination, suitability and productivity for cultivated crops, trees, and grasses.

Soil surveys are important to planners, engineers, zoning commissions, tax commissioners, homeowners, developers, as well as agricultural producers. The NRCS Soil Survey Division through its World Soil Resources Staff helps gather and interpret soil information for global use.

NRCS provides the soil surveys for the privately owned lands of the nation and, through its National Soil Survey Center, provides scientific expertise to enable the NCSS to develop and maintain a uniform system for mapping and assessing soil resources so that soil information from different locations can be shared, regardless of which agency collects it. NRCS provides most of the training in soil survey to Federal agencies and assists other Federal agencies with their soil inventories on a reimbursable basis. NRCS is also responsible for developing the standards and mechanisms for providing digital soil information for the national spatial data infrastructure required by Executive Order 12906.

Program Contact
Ed White, State Soil Scientist, 717-237-2207