NRCS UNVEILS NEW ELECTRONIC TECHNICAL GUIDES FOR CONSERVATION

Terry Bish 202-720-3210

WASHINGTON, Aug. 26, 2002—The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) today unveiled the new electronic Field Office Technical Guide (eFOTG). This innovative technology supports the President’s management initiative on expanding e-government and will support Farm Bill implementation and program delivery at the local level.

“Using this technology, we will be able to provide more timely information and data to more people nationwide than previously has been available,” said NRCS Chief Bruce I. Knight. “This is a major step forward in providing conservation information and scientific and technological resources on the Web in an easy-to-use environment.”

This project makes the scientifically proven and time-tested NRCS conservation technology available online to anyone who uses the technical resources in the FOTG. The old FOTG was a traditional, paper-based reference used in NRCS field offices to organize technical resources and activities for conservation, but the electronic technical guides make NRCS technical information available instantly to anyone with Internet access.

The electronic technical guides are linked to 8,000 NRCS web pages and external sites, including the latest material on the 2002 Farm Bill. Content includes data in technical handbooks and manuals, scientific tools that help generate conservation alternatives, conservation practice standards, conservation effects case study reports and other electronic tools for evaluating the effects of conservation technical assistance.

“The electronic technical guide will become a staple for America’s farmers and ranchers in managing their land,” said Knight. “Landowners, technical service providers, conservation planners, students and others can use the material on their home, school or office computers. The data will be updated electronically on a regular basis.”

During May and June of this year, 10 states pilot tested the electronic technical guides: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Texas. All states are developing electronic technical guides and have varying amounts of material currently available.

To access electronic technical guides, visit the NRCS website at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov. Look under Technical Resources for eFOTG and then select a state.

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