The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is launching the “Farmer First, Field Focused” pilot, a new framework designed to prioritize conservation planning, streamline financial assistance, elevate locally led conservation voices and priorities, and give producers a more informed, transparent path to conservation planning and financial assistance. This pilot is an effort of USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to make programs work better for farmers.
“Our job is to help farmers and ranchers find practical conservation solutions that work for their operations, and that starts with listening to the producer and getting into the field,” said J. Xavier Montoya, NRCS State Conservationist in New Mexico. “The ‘Farmer First, Field Focused’ pilot is about putting that work at the center of how we deliver conservation. By simplifying processes and giving producers a clear understanding of their conservation options, we can spend more time focused on what matters most — Keeping Working Lands in Working Hands.”
Field Focused – Putting Conservation First
NRCS is adopting a "Field Focused" service model, emphasizing conservation planning prior to financial assistance. Producers will first work one-on-one with NRCS to develop conservation plans based on their natural resource concerns and goals. This will allow producers to make financial assistance decisions based on a conservation plan developed with their input, for their operation.
With this new model, NRCS field office technical staff will focus solely on conservation planning, while program specialists will manage contracts, payments and administrative tasks, allowing the field office to spend more time on the land with producers delivering sound technical assistance.
Streamlining Financial Assistance
As part of the pilot, states will establish and communicate funding priorities using a consistent framework that elevates state and locally led input. Replacing the ranking process with a new, streamlined evaluation process will improve transparency, reduce unnecessary complexity and provide producers with clearer expectations about how applications are evaluated. Producers can expect less paperwork, clearer timelines and faster funding decisions.
Source : usda.gov