The Agricultural Management Assistance Program (AMA) helps agricultural producers use conservation to manage risk and address natural resource issues through natural resources conservation. NRCS administers the AMA conservation provisions, while the Agricultural Marketing Service and the Risk Management Agency implement other provisions under AMA.
What's New in AMA?
New adjusted gross income (AGI) requirements apply. The AGI limitation is now set at $900,000.
NRCS amended the rule governing AMA, to maintain consistency with EQIP. This is noted in the Final Rule for Changes to Existing Programs on the Federal Register website.
|
Benefits
Producers receive conservation technical and financial assistance to construct or improve water management or irrigation structures, plant trees for windbreaks or, in order to improve water quality and mitigate risk, diversify their operation and conservation practices including soil erosion control, integrated pest management or transition to organic farming.
Persons or legal entities cannot receive more than $50,000 in AMA program payments per fiscal year.
Eligibility
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
- Wyoming
|
Persons and legal entities who receive payments under the AMA program are subject to the Adjusted Gross Income limitation provisions. All participants must agree to implement and maintain conservation practices for the life of the practice.
Eligible land includes agricultural land, nonindustrial private forest land or other land on which agricultural products, livestock, or forest-related products are produced and where risk may be mitigated by diversifying the operation or adding conservation practices that support soil erosion control, integrated pest management and organic farming.
How to Apply
Visit your local USDA Service Center to apply or visit www.nrcs.usda.gov/getstarted.
Download NRCS conservation program application (PDF, 267KB)
More Information
AMA Fact Sheet (PDF, 1.4MB)
To learn how to get started with NRCS, visit www.nrcs.usda.gov/getstarted
Find your local USDA Service Center 
Sign up for Farm Bill email updates
Return to NRCS Farm Bill Homepage
