NRCS and USDA RD: Funders That Planners, Municipal Officials, and Other Community Leaders Should Know Well

1.25 CM credits (pending approval)

How community planners and other local leaders can utilize the agencies of the United State Department of Agriculture (USDA) — Farm Service Agency (FSA), Natural Resource & Conservation Service (NRCS) & United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development (USDA RD) — for community plan creation and implementation is the focus of this session.  These agencies can be especially relevant when agriculture is identified as a municipal priority for preservation or for future development in a community. This session will, however, also present how these agencies can assist community development in both agricultural and non-agricultural areas.

When Americans hear U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), they usually think food and farming.  But the USDA RD not only supports agricultural producers; it also supports the communities where these farmers and their families live.  The agency has the role of administering more than 50 loan and grant programs to help expand economic opportunities and create jobs in rural areas by supporting infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety, and health care; and high-speed internet access.

And since 1935, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (originally called the Soil Conservation Service) has provided leadership in a partnership effort to help America’s private land owners and managers conserve their soil, water, and other natural resources. NRCS employees provide technical assistance based on sound science and suited to a customer’s specific needs.. In addition, the agency’s Conservation Technical Assistance (CTA) program provides technical assistance to land-users, communities, units of state and local government, and other Federal agencies in planning and implementing conservation systems.

For more information contact Peter Wulfhorst (ptw3@psu.edu or 570-296-3400 ext. 1445)