NRCS Funding Programs for Cover Crops and Regenerative Agriculture

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0:05 Hey everybody Keith Burns with Green Cover here in another of our series on potential funding sources to help you down the regenerative path that you've started on. We have with us today my friend David Doctorian. David is the state conservationist for the state of Kansas for NRCS, a position that he started fairly recently. Prior to that, David was with one of the soil health specialists in the state of Missouri. And in that position I was blessed to be able to work with him on several different projects where we came in and helped with some of the different workshops and seminars they put on. So I know that David's heart is with the farmer. He has his own operation, so he's using a lot of these regenerative practices and so those are near and dear to him. But now he's in a position of leadership within the state of Kansas. And so I've asked him to just talk in big general terms about some of the programs opportunities that NRCS has to offer the farmer, the producer for helping them go further down this.

1:11 Path so David welcome and thank you very much for taking your time. Did I miss anything in your background? Did that kind of sum things up?

1:18 No that's really good and thank you Keith for having me. I appreciate it. I always love the opportunity to talk about cover crops and regenia agriculture. You mentioned I've moved more into an administrative position, but I always jump at the chance to talk about what we can do with good stewardship. You know, I think that's what we're really talking about when we talk about covers and no-till and any of these regena practices. So thanks for having me, appreciate it.

1:49 Yeah absolutely. And you know, really we're all on the same team of wanting to protect the resources that we've been blessed with. So tell us a little bit, and again I know that these programs are going to vary widely from state to state, county to county, even so we're not trying to pin you down on any specifics here, but in big broad general terms, you know what are some of the different.

2:11 Programs that NRCS offers and who might be interested and who might qualify for this. Yeah, so for NRCS we really have a couple of funding opportunities that are probably the most accessible, and that would be what we call EQUIP and CSP. Now with us we speak an acronym, right? So EQUIP is the Environmental Quality Incentive Program and CSP is a Conservation Security Program. So just what we talk about EQUIP and CSP, that's what we're talking about, and both of those are voluntary programs that a producer, a land owner, or an operator can sign up for, and they address a resource concern on their operation.

3:12 Part of the process is establishing what those resource concerns might be. So there is whatever it is that the farmer would bring to the table—the farmer or rancher—and then whatever it is that NRCS might assess as well. And then they get to make some decisions about what it is that they want to address, so maybe an

3:34 Easy distinction between the two programs. In EQUIP we might be a little more focused on what we're going to address, whereas with CSP we're probably going to be hoping to qualify for CSP. Number one, we're going to be at a higher level of conservation to begin with. We're going to come in the door with maybe a few more things done, and then we're going to be a little more focused on what it is that we're going to address through that CSP contract.

4:04 That is not to say that you can't do CSP before EQUIP, but generally speaking what we see producers do is they start with EQUIP. They begin to work through the resource concerns on their operation, and then they'll transition into a CSP contract. The purpose for the programs are a little different. CSP really is to address a need—EQUIP is to address a need. CSP has a little more of a reward component to it for having already addressed a need, so a little different concept between those two, but both are viable options.

4:46 We also have a program called the regional.

4:48 Conservation partnership program RCPP, you'll hear us call it, and within our RCPP resides both EQUIP and CSP depending on how the partner put that proposal together. So it's much the same but some differences, and you've already mentioned it. Everything we talk about is subject to verification with your local office, so it'll be a little different from place to place perhaps, and you'll need to drill down on the details.

5:16 In terms of who these programs are available to, they're available to any operator in the country really. There's some details, farming track numbers and things that you have to go through to meet the administrative side of it, the paperwork side of it. But if you have a resource need, then you are someone that we want to work with.

5:41 Yeah, for sure. You should at least go into your county office and explore whether or not you'd be a good candidate or eligible. Now, would you say, and we had a CSP contract—I should say, it's been 25 years ago—and so I know that program more evolves.

5:58 And changes all the time, but it would be accurate to say that CSP has a lot of different options, a lot of different things that you can choose to work on that could be part of your program. It's a big broad program. Cover crops would be part of it, but there could be many many other conservation practices that an operator could choose. Is that correct?

6:22 That's right. It's wide ranging. We're looking at all the land uses on the operation and looking at the operation as a whole. So it's everything that the landowner or the operator will have control of for the length of the contract. So it's not just a track and field, but rather it is all the tracks and fields and associated lands and even the farmstead would be part of that evaluation. So it can be everything from cover crops and no-till, but it also could include pollinators, it could include energy audits on the grain bin. It's wide ranging in what is available through it. So that's a great point to bring up.

7:07 Yeah and I've been asking this question to all of the different grant folks that we've been talking to and stuff do these programs really only pay for new practices that are going to be implemented or is there any credit or any payments for things that I'm already doing but I'm going to continue to do?

7:29 So CSP takes into account what you've been doing and there is a value associated with that. Your current level of conservation is the way we say it. EQUIP on the other hand is simply looking at what it is that you want to do. I want to do no till and cover crops, okay, so that's what we're going to talk about. So it's more specific. Sometimes there's some misconception about that. When NRCS talks about no till, they're talking about zero till. The field will see a planter, a sprayer, and a combine—that's it. I think a lot of times producers think of no till as in a rotation. We no till our soybeans but we do some tilling for corn. So I'm saying that to say this.

9:27 End up where you need to be right. Sure, and it doesn't cost you anything other than a little bit of time to go in and at least check out what the options are because it's not going to fit everybody just like any of these grant programs that are out there isn't going to fit everybody but I'm guessing that with all of the programs that are out there there's something that will fit everybody.

9:48 There's something for everybody, it's just not the same thing for everybody. Absolutely, I mean you and I are talking about federal cost share essentially but there are so many products out there right now climate smart and state CIER and some of the commodity groups and there's so many opportunities. So yes, you're right, there's something for someone out there that will fit you. I would also bring up that maybe it's good to remember you might not even have to come into the office right, you might make a call and someone would come meet you on your farm in the field.

10:26 What we prefer if we can make that happen, we spend a lot of our time attending different conferences. We'll have a booth and there'll be conservation planners there. You can stop into a booth and visit. We'll be at the State Fair in Kansas. There's a lot of different places that we'll show up that you can take advantage of.

10:48 I want to talk just briefly before we close here about RCPP. Is that a program that an individual farmer would apply for, or is that something that more of an entity would apply for, and then when they get that grant, then they would make benefits available to people within a region? Is that how that works?

11:12 So the latter, right. So it would be something that an entity or a combination of entities would go together and apply for. They would provide a proposal that proposal goes through an evaluation process. It may or may not be accepted.

11:36 Accepted there's some collaboration over the next year to get it to maybe closer to what would be accepted if there's some agreeance there. But then once that is put in place then it will be available to land owners and producers to take advantage of whatever it is that they're going to address and usually they're targeted right. It's about water quality, it's about bird habitat, it's about something specific that that particular partner is interested in seeing some advancement on.

12:08 So taking Kansas as an example, you may hear of a program through a WRAPS group or through a Conservation District or something like that but it certainly could be some of this RCPP money if they had applied and been awarded one of those. So that's not something an individual would apply for but it's certainly something that an individual could benefit from if there's one in your area. Absolutely.

12:32 Well thank you so much David and again I know we didn't go into a lot of detail because we just simply can't because.

12:38 It's such a program that varies so much from state to state and county to county so we just want to encourage you to reach out to your local NRCS folks and just find out if there's any of these programs that you might be eligible for and might be a good fit.

12:54 Any last closing words David? Well, of course, thank you Keith for giving us the opportunity to talk about EQUIP and CSP and the work that NRCS does. We appreciate that. My encouragement to those that see this is to, you know, if you're not aware of what NRCS does, what your local USDA service center offers, find a little time and stop in and make an appointment visit and see if there's a connection that you can make there to get some of that benefit. We want to do that. That's what we're in the business of doing. We want to see producers, you know, have the impact on their land that they want to have and we want to help and partner with them. So appreciate the opportunity Keith.

13:42 Thank you. Yep, thank you. And you know, for people like David and his team and many NRCS folks out there, they truly are from the government and they are here to help. So we'll just leave it at that. So thank you very much David.

13:56 Fair enough. Thank you sir.