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Agricultural Management Assistance
Agricultural Management Assistance (AMA)
provides cost share assistance to agricultural producers to voluntarily
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.
How AMA Works in Pennsylvania
Eligibility
- Applicants must be a farmer or agricultural producer engaged in livestock
or crop production on eligible land. Eligible land includes cropland, rangeland,
pasture, private non-industrial forestland, and other farm lands, as determined
by the Secretary of Agriculture.
- Priority is given to applicants who have a current conservation plan. The
conservation plan should describe the practices that will be included on the
contract and the schedule for implementing the practices.
- Preference is given to applicants who can complete work within 1-3 years.
- Participants agree to maintain conservation practices implemented with AMA
financial assistance for the practice life span, which may exceed the length of
the contract.
- Conservation Practices must meet or exceed Pennsylvania NRCS standards and
specifications.
Application
Applications are accepted by NRCS on a continuous basis throughout the year
with cutoff dates to evaluate, rank, prioritize and select applicants. Farmers
may apply by completing the NRCS-CPA-1200 Application Form and Appendix and
submit in person, e-mail (must include signature), fax, or mail to their local
USDA Service Centers. Application forms are available at your local USDA Service
Centers in Pennsylvania or at the Pennsylvania or National EQIP website. There
is no due date to apply but farmers are encouraged to apply early to increase
likelihood of being offered a contract (See Evaluation and Ranking, below).
Financial assistance eligibility is contingent on the producer not starting the
practice before having a signed and approved EQIP contract.
Applicants are asked to identify the practice(s) for which they are requesting
assistance and the farm(s) on which the proposed practices would be installed.
Evaluation and Ranking
AMA is a competitive program and uses an evaluation and ranking process to
assess needs and cost effectiveness. Ranking occurs after applications are first
put through a screening tool and are determined to have at least minimal
environmental benefits and meet EQIP program purposes. The review of
applications for Fiscal Year 2009 contract requests will begin at the end of
August 2008 and will continue monthly as long as funds are available. Because of
the large demand for AMA assistance, funds are usually expended after one or two
ranking cycles.
Funding
Contracts will be awarded to producers with the highest rankings until funds
are exhausted. For fiscal year 2009, a target date of December 31, 2008 has been
set to finalize contracts. Applications that cannot be funded can be retained
for up to two years, after which time the producer will need to re-file a new
application.
Additional Information
AMA Sign-up information is now available online. The links below provide access to the forms and information needed to
signup for AMA.
State-Specific Ranking Application Worksheets
These Documents Require Adobe Acrobat.
Agriculture Risk Protection Act of 2000
Notice
of Availability
Final Rule, Agricultural Management Assistance Program, 7 CFR 1465, May
9,
2003
Program Contact
Ed Sanders, Program Analyst,
717-237-2201
Barry Frantz, Assistant State Resource
Conservationist for Programs, 717-237-2216
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