Program Manager
Adolfo Perez
202-720-1853 adolfo.perez@usda.gov
Web-site: www.nrcs.usda.gov

NRCS puts nearly 70 years of experience to work in assisting owners of America's private land with conserving their soil, water, and other natural resources.
Local, state and federal agencies and policymakers also rely on our expertise. We deliver technical assistance based on sound science and suited to a customer's specific needs. Cost shares and financial incentives are available in some cases. Most work is done with local partners. Our partnership with local conservation districts serves almost every county in the nation, and the
Caribbean and Pacific Basin. Participation in our programs is voluntary.

The Natural Resources Conservation
Service provides leadership in a partnership effort to help people conserve, maintain, and improve our natural resources and environment.

Harmony between people and the land

To ensure that NRCS programs are administered in a way that enables small farmers maintain and develop economic viability in farm operations; to ensure
NRCS technical assistance programs and activities reach small farmers and ranchers; and that technical practices and information are relevant to the needs of these farmers and ranchers.

A farms with less than $250,000 gross receipts annually, on which day-to-day labor and management are provided by the farmer and/or the farm family that owns the production or owns, or leases, the productive assets".
Which is 94 % of all farms.

A Limited Resource Farmer or Rancher is an individual directly or indirectly with gross farm sales not more than $100,000, and
Has a total household income at or below national poverty level for a family of four, or has less than 50 % of county median household income, in each of the previous two years. LRF/R make up about 16.7% of all farmers and ranchers
A Beginning Farmer or Rancher means an individual or entity who has not operated a farm or ranch, or who has operated a farm or ranch for not more than 10 consecutive years.
Currently have about 1.9 million operator of those 32% have less than 10 years according to 1997 census

Conservation Reserve Program
(Farm Service Agency)
Conservation of Private Grazing
Lands
Conservation Security Program
Conservation Technical
Assistance
Emergency Watershed Protection
Environmental Quality Incentives
Program
Farm and Ranch Lands Protection
Program
Forestry Incentives Program
Grassland Reserve Program
Grazing Lands Conservation
Initiative
Resource Conservation and
Development
Rural Abandoned Mine Program
Soil Survey Programs
Snow Survey and Water Supply
Forecasting
Stewardship Incentive Program
(Forest Service)
Watershed Protection and Flood
Prevention
Watershed Rehabilitation
Wetlands Reserve Program
Wildlife Habitat Incentives
Program

Conservation Technical Assistance
(CTA)
Resource Conservation and Development
(RC&D)
Environmental Quality Incentives Program
(EQIP)

NRCS
Social Sciences Institute
Resources and Web-site
Kathie M. Starkweather
USDA/NRCS Sociologist
Lincoln, NE 402-437-4098

http://www.ssi.nrcs.usda.gov/
Guidebook Reaching Out to Minority Farmers
Working with People of Different Cultures
Working with Asian and Hispanic Limited Resource Producer
How to improve Diversity on your Team
Social and Professional Skills too be Effective with Small Farmers
Social Profile
Gaining Trust with Small Farmers
Barriers and Strategies for Small-Scale Products
ALL SSI Publications http://www.ssi.nrcs.usda.gov/publications/index.html#MI003