NRCS Conservation Programs

Agricultural Management Assistance (AMA)

The Agricultural Management Assistance (AMA) program provides financial and technical assistance to agricultural producers to voluntarily address issues such as water management, water quality, and erosion control by incorporating conservation into their farming operations. Producers may construct or improve water management structures or irrigation structures; plant trees for windbreaks or to improve water quality; and mitigate risk through production diversification or resource conservation practices, including soil erosion control, integrated pest management, or transition to organic farming. AMA is available in 16 states where participation in the Federal Crop Insurance Program is historically low: Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

To learn more see AMA

Financial Information: Total Obligations | Technical Assistance | Financial Assistance | Reimbursable
Contracts: Contract Data |Maps
Conservation Practice Implementation Reports: by State | by State and Conservation Practices related to: Cropland Soil Quality | Cropland Soil Health & Sustainability | Cropland Soil Health Management System (SHMS) | Irrigation Efficiency | Water Quality
Civil Rights Report

Financial Information

The Financial Information section presents data from the USDA Office of the Chief Financial Officer's Financial Management Modernization Initiative (FMMI) system and its predecessor, the Foundation Financial Information System (FFIS). The Financial Information presented here is Total Obligations which the Government Accountability Office defines as binding agreements (orders placed, contracts awarded, services rendered, etc.) that will result in outlays, immediately or in the future. Before obligations can be incurred, budgetary resources must be made available by Congress. The obligations displayed for each year are the total obligations reported as of the end of each fiscal year. Subsequent adjustments after the close of the fiscal year are not included.

There are two categories of Total Obligations presented below:

• Technical Assistance (TA) Obligations refer to the scientific expertise, natural resource data, tools, and technology that USDA NRCS personnel provide to help producers, landowners, and communities develop conservation plans and implement conservation practices to solve natural resource problems at the field, operation, or larger landscape scales. NRCS is the lead agency for providing technical assistance for USDA.
  
• Financial Assistance (FA) Obligations refer to the commitment of funds to contracts for payments that will be made to program participants for implementing conservation practices, which can provide both on-site and off-site conservation benefits.
  

Contracts

NRCS enters into AMA contracts with eligible producers or landowners willing to implement conservation practices. Applicants must own or control the land. By entering into a contract, the participant agrees to apply specified conservation practices, and NRCS obligates funds to provide technical and financial assistance for planning and applying these conservation practices. AMA contracts can be up to ten years in length. The table below reports the number of active or completed AMA contracts signed during each contract fiscal year, and the acres associated with those contracts. For example, for a ten year contract signed in contract year 2009, funds are obligated in fiscal year 2009, and conservation practices may be applied using those funds during the 2009-2020 fiscal year time period.

The Agricultural Management Assistance (AMA) Maps page contains maps illustrating contracts enrolled, acres treated, and financial assistance obligated by state and year.

Conservation Practice Implementation

Conservation practices are planned and applied at the land unit level. The land unit is the smallest unit of land that has a permanent or contiguous boundary, a common land cover and land management, and a common owner or a common producer. The following tables include data for the fiscal years since enactment of the 2008 Food, Conservation, and Energy Act (Farm Bill) in 2009.

As conservation practices are measured in different units (acres, feet, square feet, etc.), the challenge for reporting performance at various levels is how to aggregate across practices. Although practices may affect resources beyond the land unit boundary, or be applied only on part of the land unit, the land unit does provide a common metric to aggregate over practices since each applied practice is associated with a specific land unit. Analysis of the data reveals that most practices are measured in acres and most of the practice applied amounts match the land unit acres of the field on which the practice was applied. Therefore, land unit acreage is the metric on which the acres of land receiving conservation treatment are calculated.

The data presented in this section reflect the fiscal year in which conservation practices were applied, which can occur at any point during the duration of the AMA contract. Totals presented here are not comparable to program enrollment acres or contract acres.

Land Unit Acres Receiving Conservation

The following table summarizes land unit acres by fiscal year. Here, land unit acres are counted once when the program has been used to apply one or more practices on that land unit in a given fiscal year. Therefore, land unit acres may be counted multiple times across fiscal years.

Land Unit Acres Receiving Conservation by Practice

The following set of chart/table combinations present conservation practice data grouped by purpose: Cropland Soil Quality, Cropland Soil Health, Irrigation Efficiency, and Water Quality. Any practices not included in one of these groups are included in an All Other category. Data for practices in the All Other category can be downloaded in the Farm Bill Conservation Programs Profile csv file.

Note that there is some overlap between these groupings, since some practices address multiple resource concerns. Here land unit acres are counted each time a practice is applied on that land unit in the fiscal year. Therefore land unit acres may be counted multiple times across practices, practice groupings, and fiscal years. To learn more about specific conservation practices, see the National Handbook of Conservation Practices.

Conservation Practices Related to Cropland Soil Quality

The following chart and table includes practices that are related to Cropland Soil Quality Management. The six components of soil quality management are: enhancing organic matter, avoiding excessive tillage, managing pests and nutrients efficiently, preventing soil compaction, keeping the ground covered, and diversifying cropping systems. Choosing specific practices within each component depends on the situation since different types of soil respond differently to the same practice. Each combination of soil type and land use calls for a different set of practices to enhance soil quality. Note that only practices applied on cropland or hay land are included.

Only practices representing a significant portion of the total for the period are included in the above chart. If applicable, practices not included are summed into the All Other category.

The following table includes program information under which the above practices related to Cropland Soil Quality Management were applied. These data reflect the geographic extent of cropland treated with soil quality practices by each conservation program during a fiscal year. Land unit acres may be counted multiple times across fiscal years, but are only counted once per fiscal year.

Conservation Practices Related to Cropland Soil Health & Sustainability

The following chart and table includes practices that are related to Cropland Soil Health & Sustainability. This measure is intended as a step-wise measure to show progress towards implementing a Soil Health Management System (SHMS). A SHMS is defined as a collection of NRCS conservation practices that focuses on maintaining or enhancing soil health by addressing four soil health management principles: minimize disturbance, maximize soil cover, maximize biodiversity and maximize presence of living roots. Note that only practices applied on cropland are included. Also at least two eligible conservation practices or an eligible Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) bundle must be applied during the fiscal year. Eligible conservation practices are those that indicate progress toward a SHMS and include: Conservation Crop Rotation, Residue and Tillage Management (No Till and Reduced Till), Cover Crop, and corresponding CSP activities and bundles. Some CSP bundles count as two eligible practices.

The following AMA reports summarize where AMA was responsible for funding all practices required to meet the performance measure. The performance measure, however, can be satisfied by the application of eligible practices under more than one program (e.g., AMA and CSP). To see the overall contribution of AMA-funded practices to fulfilling the requirements of the measure, please see the Land Unit Acres Receiving Conservation (including practice count) by Program and Fiscal Year, Cropland Soil Health & Sustainability Practices table in the National Conservation Profile found in the National Reports page of the RCA Data Viewer. See National Conservation Profile report.

Only practices representing a significant portion of the total for the period are included in the above chart. If applicable, practices not included are summed into the All Other category.

The following table includes program information under which the above practices related to Cropland Soil Health & Sustainability were applied. These data reflect the geographic extent of cropland treated with soil health practices by each conservation program during a fiscal year. Land unit acres may be counted multiple times across fiscal years, but are only counted once per fiscal year.

Conservation Practices Related to Cropland Soil Health Management System (SHMS)

The following chart and table includes practices that are related to Cropland SHMS or cropland on which a system of practices to sustain or improve soil health was applied during the fiscal year. A SHMS is defined as a collection of NRCS conservation practices that focuses on maintaining or enhancing soil health by addressing four soil health management principles: minimize disturbance, maximize soil cover, maximize biodiversity and maximize presence of living roots. Note that only practices applied on cropland are included. Three eligible core conservation practices must be in place. They are: Conservation Crop Rotation, Residue and Tillage Management (No Till or Reduced Till), Cover Crop, and corresponding CSP activities and bundles. Some CSP bundles fulfil the requirements of a Cropland SHMS.

The following AMA reports summarize where AMA was responsible for funding all practices required to meet the performance measure. The performance measure, however, can be satisfied by the application of eligible practices under more than one program (e.g., AMA and CSP). To see the overall contribution of AMA-funded practices to fulfilling the requirements of the measure, please see the Land Unit Acres Receiving Conservation (including practice count) by Program and Fiscal Year, Cropland Soil Health Management System (SHMS) Practices table in the National Conservation Profile found in the National Reports page of the RCA Data Viewer. See National Conservation Profile report.

Only practices representing a significant portion of the total for the period are included in the above chart. If applicable, practices not included are summed into the All Other category.

The following table includes program information under which the above practices related to Cropland SHMS were applied. These data reflect the geographic extent of cropland treated with SHMS practices by each conservation program during a fiscal year. Land unit acres may be counted multiple times across fiscal years, but are only counted once per fiscal year.

Conservation Practices Related to Irrigation Efficiency

The following chart and table includes practices that are related to Irrigation Efficiency. The goal of these practices is to assist in properly designing, installing and maintaining irrigation systems to ensure uniform and efficient distribution of water, thereby conserving water and protecting water resources. Note that pumping plant (533) installation is only counted when applied on cropland or hay land.

Only practices representing a significant portion of the total for the period are included in the above chart. If applicable, practices not included are summed into the All Other category.

The following table includes program information under which the above practices related to Irrigation Efficiency were applied. These data reflect the geographic extent of land treated to improve irrigation efficiency by each conservation program during a fiscal year. Land unit acres may be counted multiple times across fiscal years, but are only counted once per fiscal year.

Conservation Practices Related to Water Quality

The following chart and table includes practices that are related to Water Quality. Water quality is an indicator of the health of our environment and reflects what occurs on the land. The primary water quality issues from agriculture are sediment, nutrients, pesticides, pathogens, and in some parts of the country, salinity. Using conservation practices to improve land in an environmentally sound manner will result in better water quality for drinking, recreation, wildlife, fisheries and industry.

Only practices representing a significant portion of the total for the period are included in the above chart. If applicable, practices not included are summed into the All Other category.