Arkansas State Technical Committee

What is the State Technical Committee?

The Food Security Act of 1985, as amended, authorizes the State Technical Committee to provide recommendations for establishing technical guidelines and program criteria and priorities necessary to carry out conservation provisions of the Farm Bill. The committee also helps assure that civil rights requirements in program delivery are met.

Additionally, the State Technical Committee provides recommendations on a number of issues within a variety of conservation programs. Although the State Technical Committee has no implementation or enforcement authority, USDA gives strong consideration to the committee's recommendations.

We appreciate your involvement in the State Technical Committee and look forward to your input on NRCS priorities, technical material and program delivery. If you have any questions, please contact Assistant State Conservationist for Partnerships Amanda Mathis at 501-301-3162.

Roles and Responsibilities

The State Technical Committee may advise the NRCS state conservationist on many issues. Examples include:

State program management policies and procedures
State program management policies and procedures Technical programmatic recommendations
Statewide public information and outreach campaigns
Identifying significant statewide natural resource concerns
Guidelines for developing ranking criteria for evaluating applications.
Guidance on eligible conservation practices
Technical guidance on conservation practices, including new, innovative practices.
Cost-share rates and incentive payment limits and methods of payment
Identifying, monitoring, and analyzing performance indicators
Evaluating and reporting program impacts on natural resources and the environment
Coordinating with other federal, state, tribal, and local public and private activities

Who are the Committee Members?

The Arkansas state conservationist is the committee chair.

In addition, the state conservationist will ensure equal representation of interests, seriously consider the committee’s technical advice, and call and provide notice of public meetings when necessary.

Invitation to participate will be made by the state conservationist in order to assure a balance of representation of the many resource and conservation issues.

Representatives on the committee may include:

Agricultural Council of Arkansas
American Agriculture Movement
APHIS - USDA
AR Dept Natural Resources
Arkansas Agriculture Department
Arkansas Association of Conservation Districts
Arkansas Cattleman's Association
Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality
Arkansas Department of Health
Arkansas Farm Bureau
Arkansas Forestry Commission
Arkansas Game & Fish Commission
Arkansas Land & Farm Development Corp.
Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission
Arkansas Natural Resources Commission
Arkansas Pork
Audubon
Beaver Water District
Beaver Watershed Alliance
Congressman Bruce Westerman, 4th District
Congressman French Hill, 2nd District
Congressman Rick Crawford, 1st District
Congressman Steve Womack, 3rd District
Delta Plastics
Ducks Unlimited
Dunklin Holding Co.
East Arkansas Enterprise Community
Environmental Protection Agency
Enviroscapes Ecological Consulting
Farm Service Agency
Illinois River Watershed Partnership
Kingwood Forestry Service
KKAC Foundation, Inc.
National Ag Statistics
National Black Growers Council
Natural Resources Conservation Service
Phillips County Conservation District
Producer
Riceland Foods
Rural Development
Self employed
Senator John Boozman
Senator Tom Cotton
The Chickamauga Nation
The Nature Conservancy
The Poultry Federation
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers- Vicksburg, MS
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Memphis, TN
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-Little Rock District
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service
University of Arkansas Experiment Station
US Fish & Wildlife; Lower Mississippi Valley Jt Venture
US Forest Service; Ouachita National Forest
US Forest Service; Ozark - St Francis National Forests
US Forest Service; Ozark National Forest
USA Rice
USDA-OPPE
West Gulf Coastial Plain Conservation Delivery Network
White River Irrigation District
Winrock International

Meetings

The Arkansas State Technical Committee meetings are held on an as needed basis, usually twice per year. Prior to these meetings, various work groups representing members of the committee may meet to finalize recommendations to be made to the committee.

The next State Technical Committee meeting will be held November 28, 2023, beginning at 9:00 a.m. We are planning a hybrid meeting which will allow for either in-person or ZOOM attendance options. The meeting will be held at the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture- State Extension Office Building Auditorium at 2301 South University, Little Rock, AR 72204.

Registration links for the Fall State Technical Committee Meeting are below. We are pleased to again be partnering with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service to allow for in-person or virtual attendance. Please register for the participation method of your choice.

Registration:
•   In-Person registration: https://forms.office.com/r/bnxTU1jvqp
       o   Registrants will only receive an on-screen confirmation at the time of registration, this system does not send a confirmation email.
or
•   Zoom registration:  https://bit.ly/Fall-2023-ASTCM-Zoom-Registration