Expanding Our Conservation Toolbox to Help People Help the Land

Talking points used by Arlen L. Lancaster, Chief, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, at a meeting of the NRCS National Leadership Team (NLT).
Tucson, Arizona
July 31, 2008
 

1. The Introduction
Good Morning.

Monday, as part of the plenary session for the Soil and Water Conservation Society conference, I mentioned how pleased I was to be in a room with so many who are integral to the science and the art of conservation. That is even truer today; but you know that, because you are not only the group responsible for the mechanics of getting conservation on the ground, you are often the ones who see first-hand the results of that applied conservation.

At NRCS we know that conservation occurs not just through discussion and science, but through the commitment of landowners and land-managers who often take a leap of faith in trusting the people who are relating the science and the practices. This trust is hard earned, but the result is worth it.

I did not join NRCS because I wanted to manage thousands of people or hand out billions of dollars. I don’t think any of us in this room did. We joined because we believe that through voluntary, incentive-based conservation we can make a difference. We can feed and clothe the world and reduce our footprint at the same time. We do it because we are confident we can make the land more productive, we can improve the environment, and we can create the type of world we want our children and grandchildren to inherit.

When I had the privilege of becoming the 13th chief of the agency, I thought a lot about my personal interests: water conservation and wildlife habitat. Some of you know that I considered pushing that personal agenda. Instead, I decided that each individual resource concern or priority that I had—that we all have—can be best addressed if we improve the overall system.

As you know, I focused on three priorities: making conservation easier, making sure as an agency we are prepared to meet new challenges, and improving accountability.

In making conservation easier, I meant making it easier and more accessible for our customers, our partners, and ourselves.

In making sure we were prepared to meet new challenges, I meant making sure that we are structured properly and have the right tools to address challenges in all their forms: tighter budgets, different market conditions, a retiring workforce and new resource concerns.

And, by accountability, I meant upholding our fiduciary responsibilities and providing quantitative and qualitative assessments of the effectiveness of our efforts.

Over the past two years, I am even more committed to those priorities. As we engaged with Congress on the farm bill, I was mindful of these priorities; and as we move forward in implementing the farm bill, I think about these priorities. But I hope you have understood that my goal has been the long-term condition of the agency, thinking beyond just today, and trying to understand these decisions in the context of sustainability and success for the agency over the long haul.

We have made progress on each of these priorities, and with them I believe we can ensure our relevance and recognition in the future.

Before I get too much further into my remarks, I need to begin with a “thank you.”

Thank you to the many, many employees who were involved in supporting the development of the farm bill. To those who sacrificed by being away from their families and jobs into the wee hours of the morning and who worked for over a year on weekends and late into the night to develop the administration’s proposals and respond to the Congress: thank you all.

I also want to thank all of our colleagues who have retired this year for their dedicated and tremendous service. While I suppose it happens every year, this was a particularly tough year for me as I had built many relationships with people like Larry Clark, Ron Marlowe, Carole Jett, and so many more. I also want to thank someone who has recently announced his retirement—Bob Graham. We all have those people we call for a reality check and who give us an unvarnished perspective. Bob Graham is one of those people for me. I wish you weren’t leaving, but I appreciate that you’re doing it in a way that will help with succession management.

And for all my talk of making things easier, I know that this past year has been anything but easy. The uncertainty of appropriations and the “stop and go” of farm bills made your jobs incredibly difficult. You have my sincere admiration. Please pass along to your staffs how incredibly proud our leadership is of them. They did a tremendous job this year, just as they have done a great job in implementing the 2002 Farm Bill over the course of its life.

We are also grateful to you for managing this process with such professionalism and patience.

NRCS’ effective implementation of the 2002 Farm Bill was a big influence in the increase in working lands programs that you see in the 2008 Farm Bill. You will get more information on the changes in the farm bill later today, and while you focus on the new “Farm Bill” and the implementation journey, I hope you will keep in mind a bigger picture….

2. The Challenge

As we go about implementing the farm bill, we need to remember that it is a tool. Leveraging 2008 Farm Bill resources can move us toward a conservation-based landscape and the agency vision of productive lands and a healthy environment.

And that gives us perspective as we face the series of challenges in moving the 2008 Farm Bill from paper to practice, considering the statutory changes to every program, the “90 day from enactment” timeline we’re working toward for all regulations required to implement these new provisions, and numerous consultation, coordination, and analytical steps that must be completed before October.

3. The Solution

The Farm Bill expanded the conservation toolbox. Program improvements will:

Remove some barriers (e.g., simplify the WRP easement compensation);

Encourage participation (e.g., 30-year contracts for Tribes, increased cost share for certain farmers or ranchers);

Focus on agricultural customers (e.g., WHIP and WRP eligibility, beginning farmers and ranchers), and

Simplify and streamline to make conservation more accessible (e.g., CSP, streamlined application process).

There is increased funding for NRCS programs, with total funding of $15.1 billion over five years—an increase of $4.2 billion over the 2002 Farm Bill. Most of that is for conservation on working lands.

New initiatives and authorities–such as the cooperative conservation partnership initiative, agricultural water enhancement program, and authority to accept contributions–are provisions that can leverage federal funds, and can target conservation resources towards achieving watershed/landscape-scale natural resource objectives.

4. The Business Model

Making conservation more accessible is the business model for conservation programs, generally, with the intention to:

Reform–bringing consistency and transparency across programs where ever possible; e.g., adopting common definitions where they work;

Simplify and streamline–a priority in this farm bill. Examples include:
• developing a streamlined application process (which also fits nicely with a ‘program neutral’ application approach);
• allowing for application ranking in the new CSP, making it simpler and more consistent with other programs;
• longer term agreements with entities in FRPP and ongoing submission of offers that should bring more certainty for participants.

When we look at implementation, we realize there is more we can do to make the programs easier and more accessible. Many are things we can do and are doing today.

We are already making progress in a number of ways, including use of a common “power of attorney” form with FSA, payment schedules that ease the administrative workload, and
indexing our payment schedules to inflation, among others.

And there are other things we should be doing.

We can use common payment schedules across programs. We can move to shorter contracts to focus on implementation rather than on obligation. The funding is there within the programs to allow “repeat customers,” so we should get them into a contract for what they’re ready to implement, then help them implement the rest of their conservation plan in future contracts.

We can do group rankings to prioritize concerns we’ve identified in a watershed to allow greater focus on fixing the watershed’s problem rather than just a farm’s problem. Let’s look at identifying the practices we know need to be done and providing incentives to focus on them. This way we can essentially pre-rank applications so that they can be approved when the producer walks in.

5. The Underlying Technology (the “Magic”)

This is what will make us successful.

We are building on a strong foundation of technical expertise, local action, and partnerships–the local relationships are our assets.

We acquire technical tools and expertise–and adopt conservation technologies and standards—that fit the local need. The farm bill calls for a review of these building blocks to be sure that they are relevant to the producers and their production systems at the local level. Not just for those producers we customarily work with, but also customers who may be new to us, such as specialty or organic producers, precision farmers, or others.

We needn’t be defensive about our work in these arenas. Many of you will say we’re already working with these specialty crop producers or forest land owners, to which I reply: Yes, we are, but they don’t always know it. Congress was not saying our efforts were inadequate, but they want producers to know that these programs are available to them—no matter what they grow or how they grow it. But, we still need to remind them that they are only really competing for 40 percent of the funds.

Local action and relationships–the strong conservation partnership that is our legacy—will be a critical component of successful implementation. The farm bill expresses the expectation that producer groups and others may act on behalf of their members to facilitate program delivery and assist in outreach.

We also now have new flexibilities to bring additional partners into the mix. They include:

The Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative (CCPI), which will reserve up to 6 percent of the funding and acres of certain programs for landscape scale conservation projects accomplished by working with producers, through partners, and leveraging additional resources;

The Agricultural Water Enhancement Program (AWEP), which provides a similar opportunity to leverage the interests of local conservation entities with conservation program funding to achieve our mutual objectives for conserving water and improving water quality.

These partnerships will allow us to leverage dollars and investments. For example, we can select projects where the partner is responsible for monitoring, to drive more “accountability” into projects.

The MOU we have with the Department of Defense is another example where we can pool resources, identify concerns, and work together to solve resource concerns on a watershed basis, rather just a farm-to-farm basis.

We can expand partnerships to improve the delivery of programs and not only identify those new challenges we face, but help provide the capacity to address those challenges.

Targeted changes made in “Delivery of Technical Assistance” provisions will give us the opportunity to improve how we work through and with TSPs, to create a strong TSP cadre that will augment our staff, and not compete with it.

But, ultimately, it is about our workforce. We must ensure that as an agency we reflect the diversity in our customer base. And, as we strive to provide more services to underserved communities, we need to ensure we are taking efforts to embrace diversity within our organization. It is about retention as much as it is recruitment.

We will look to the Conservation Innovation Grant authorities to better deliver solutions to our needs and facilitate technology transfer.

We will use new allocation formulas to guide us in allocating our limited resources.

We need to ensure that our staff is well trained. In the future, we will require states to have a floor in their budgets so that at a minimum 1 percent of personnel costs will go toward training. I think we would all agree that training should not be a place to get savings when budgets are tough, because our employees are really the linchpin in delivering the conservation message.

6. Marketing and Sales–Delivering the conservation message

To achieve our vision of productive lands and a healthy environment, the conservation message must be compelling enough to bring many more agricultural and forestland acres under conservation treatment.
• We can leverage current concerns to better communicate the value of conservation. For example, our “3-click” energy tools show how conservation can be good for natural resources and save on energy input.
• The 2008 Farm Bill directs the department to take steps to facilitate the participation of farmers and ranchers in emerging environmental services markets, adding new potential values to their conservation efforts.
• Through investments stimulated by the 2002 Farm Bill, we will have information on the “environmental benefits” of conservation through our Conservation Effects Assessment Project. I said once that CEAP is like that product in the commercial: CEAP isn’t the conservation, but it makes the conservation better.
• The 2008 Farm Bill also reauthorized the Soil and Water Resources Conservation Act (RCA). With a first appraisal due to Congress in 2011, there is also great potential to re-energize the conservation movement.
• Public involvement in the farm bill implementation process is another opportunity to get the conservation message out.
• Our national campaign has focused on delivering the conservation message through the efforts of our customers.
• Conservation requires the know-how and the money to implement practices. The farm bill is a tool to help with the economic part of the equation, and we can use it as a tool to get the “know-how” out.

We also know that delivering the conservation message is about the messenger. We recognize the retirement bulge and “brain drain” we are facing. We continue to implement our human capital strategic plan, and as part of that you’ve seen the focus on leadership development: the National Leadership Development Program, the mentoring pilot, and smaller efforts like the 30- day detail in the Office of the Chief.

7. Competition – Many demands compete with conservation uses of the land

The opportunities available to and the pressures on the agricultural sector create enormous competition for conservation. Just consider:

• Market signals, such as $8 corn, that create incentives for more intensive production and land being brought out of retirement;
• Development pressures that create incentives to sell, such as farmland going for $10,000 or more per acre in some areas;
• Food safety concerns, particularly in more integrated sectors, which create challenges for adoption of generally accepted conservation measures.

8. “The Team” – A Balanced Conservation Portfolio

A balanced conservation portfolio and a landscape-scale perspective are powerful tools for achieving our vision. This new farm bill provides new opportunities to make change. For example:
• Working lands–offers incentives for conservation planning; increases funding and places emphasis on funding for certain participants; focuses on agricultural and forest lands; and lays groundwork for landscape scale conservation approaches;
• Private lands protection–removes barriers posed by valuation processes; encourages broader participation by tribes; and makes room for eligible entities to participate and help leverage federal resources;
• Stewardship–simplifies and streamlines, focuses on new conservation, nationwide access, and ranking to encourage the ‘best’ participation; and
• Land retirement–refocuses WRP on private lands, improves the compensation process, and encourages tribal participation.

New authorities and initiatives, such as CCPI and AWEP, provide additional potential to leverage the federal investment for landscape-scale conservation action.

The new farm bill allows acceptance of nonfederal contributions to expand program delivery, and also highlights environmental credit trading and opportunities for program participants to reap further value from their conservation efforts.

9. Projections and Milestones

The 2002 Farm Bill was historic in the level of funding devoted to conservation programs, particularly working lands programs.

The 2008 Farm Bill has the potential to become historic for the level of conservation applied to the land. While funding has been increased, programs have been streamlined, and new authorities are provided, it is the experience we’ve gained since 2002 that can help make delivery more effective and accelerate conservation progress.

We know, however, the increased resources and attention mean greater scrutiny.

We also understand how important our fiduciary responsibilities are. With the ongoing audit, we will identify important controls and processes that will ensure we have the guidance and tools to retain the public’s trust in our financial management.

The importance of this in our organization cannot be understated and is a key reason that we have elevated our Chief Financial Officer position from a division within a deputy chief area to where it stands now—as a position under the office of the chief. Today, I announce that the title of the CFO is no longer the Director of the Financial Management Division, but is the Deputy Chief for Financial Management. We must ensure that we are able to meet new challenges and that we prioritize accountability. I believe this change does that.

When it comes to accountability, we should embrace it in all its forms. I have asked the Deputy Chief for Science and Technology to develop a plan for the National Technology Support Centers to help states with their quality assurance work. With increased attention to our efforts, we must use every resource available to us.

With the increased attention, we must also work quickly toward making CEAP data available and integrating it into our decision making. The need to address producers on a farm-to-farm basis will not go away. Our success relies on those relationships. But, we must become more precise with our application of conservation by recognizing that not all investments in conservation are equal once you move off the edge of the field.

As we look to implement the 2008 Farm Bill—or more importantly, as we look to move forward as conservationists—we recognize that better accountability is required to justify continued investments in conservation.

The legacy of the 2008 Farm Bill can be one where we have more examples of problems we’ve fixed on a watershed scale, where years from now tours will be given.

10. Summary and Call to Action

You all did an outstanding job in delivering the 2002 Farm Bill. It is because of that effort that we see such a strong conservation title in this new farm bill–with an emphasis on working lands. This is impressive—not just in terms of funding and new authorities, but because it came about despite an austere budget and compelling needs in so many other titles.

As far as the new farm bill goes, the timeframe and complexity are challenging. Ninety days is a very short time for rule writing, environmental and economic analyses, consultation and coordination, and other required activities.

But, we’re on the right track.

We know that our strategic plan outlines the right approaches to getting the work done, with watershed-based, collaborative conservation that utilizes market-based approaches.

The 2008 Farm Bill, when funneled through our strategic plan, is a tool to reach our goals. If we keep it in perspective as a tool, and not the skilled mechanic—i.e., the tail, and not the dog—we can be successful.

Our objective is not just to “implement a farm bill’ but to use these farm bill resources in order to help people help the land. Where the 2002 Farm Bill was historic in terms of funding, the 2008 Farm Bill can be historic in conservation accomplishments, in helping people achieve their conservation and operation objectives, and ultimately ensuring that agriculture is a valued and enduring component of the landscape