Organic Conservation Farming Factsheet
Organic Conservation Farming Factsheet
Overview
Organic farming is one of the fastest growing segments
in U.S. agriculture. From 1992 through 2005, the acres of certified
organic cropland rose from 403,000 to more than 1.7 million; organically
certified pasture acres rose from 532,000 to over 4 million; and the
total number of organic certified livestock rose from 11,000 in 1992 to
over 196,000.
Legislative Changes
The
Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (2008
Farm Bill) highlights the availability of financial and technical
assistance to help producers of all commodities, including organic
farming, meet their conservation goals.
Conservation Planning
For more than 70 years the
Natural Resources
Conservation Service (NRCS�formerly the Soil Conservation Service) has
placed a high priority on helping agricultural producers meet their
environmental and economic goals, while concurrently protecting soil,
water, air, and wildlife resources. NRCS conservationists work with
farmers to develop conservation plans based on scientifically sound
alternatives for accomplishing their goals and working out a timeline to
implement the conservation practices in the plan.
NRCS assistance is available at no charge. All
information provided to NRCS for conservation planning purposes is
strictly confidential.
Implementation of conservation plans may be partially
funded through Farm Bill programs such as the
Environmental Quality
Incentives Program (EQIP).
EQIP for Organic Transition and More
EQIP provides payments for farmers to implement
conservation practices on working lands. Practices that are already in
place on the land are not eligible for payment.
Farmers who want to apply for financial assistance to
transition to organic agriculture may receive assistance under a new
provision of the EQIP program that allows producers to apply for up to
$20,000 per year or $80,000 over six years.
Producers who are currently certified as organic are
also eligible for EQIP under the general provisions. If they have
comprehensive conservation systems on their farm should be
well-positioned to participate in the Conservation Stewardship Program
(CStP).
Organic producers are required to develop and carry out
an Organic System Plan (OSP) that is approved by a certifying agent.
Applicants will need to include their OSP as part of their EQIP
application. An NRCS conservationist will then develop a conservation
plan that is consistent with the OSP.
EQIP is a competitive program (one out of every two to
three applications is funded on the average) and projects are ranked for
environmental benefits; producers addressing more resource concerns for
the lowest cost have a higher chance of receiving funds.
For More Information
Some of these documents require
Adobe Acrobat.
�
Caribbean Area Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) Information
� National Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) Information
�National Conservation Stewardship Program
(CStP) Information
For additional information, please contact NRCS Caribbean Area Conservation
Agronomist,
Carlos E. Morganti at
787-831-3416.