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Producers encouraged to contact NRCS offices ahead of new batching deadline

The farmer training program manager with The Land Connection says farmers need to be informed about key changes within the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

Crystal Siltman says January 15^th is the new national batching deadline for the first funding round of key conservation programs. 

“The deadline will apply for all NRCS financial assistance programs.”  She says, “It’s the EQIP and the CSP, including their new regenerative pilot programs, and those have drawn a lot of farmers that we work with. Maybe it’ll be easier, hopefully, than having a set of different deadlines across the states, just having one national deadline.”

She tells Brownfield, “In previous years, if your EQIP or your CSP application had been denied, it would roll over, and that is not the case anymore.”  She says, “To my knowledge, if it’s been denied within the last 30 days, you can still contact your agent and say, hey, I want that to be rolled over, but that has changed this year.”

Siltman says The Land Connection has seen an increase in farmers across the country seeking access to conservation funding.

“In previous years, farms who earned more than $900,000 a year could not apply.”  She says, “They were not eligible for these programs, but they’ve taken that away. So now they are. So, I think the concern that I’ve been hearing from organizations like ours is that the funding is there, but that it will likely go quickly and that it may not be as easily accessible to these small and mid-sized farms.”

Producers are encouraged to contact their local NRCS office ahead of Thursday’s deadline to learn more.

AUDIO: Crystal Siltman – The Land Connection