United States Department of Agriculture
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Caribbean Area NRCS Programs

Updated 06/13/2008

PROGRAMS AVAILABLE IN THE CARIBBEAN AREA

Senepol cattle graze on a pasture in St. Croix, USVI.The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (Farm Bill) represents the single most significant commitment of resources toward conservation on private lands in the Nation’s history. The legislation responds to a broad range of emerging natural resource challenges faced by farmers and ranchers, including soil erosion, wetlands, wildlife habitat, and farmland protection. Private landowners will benefit from a portfolio of voluntary assistance, including cost-share, land rental, incentive payments, and technical assistance. The 2002 Farm Bill places a strong emphasis on the conservation of working lands, ensuring that land remain both healthy and productive.

The conservation provisions build upon past conservation gains and respond to the call of farmers and ranchers across the country for additional cost-share resources. The 2002 Farm Bill also ensures greater access to the programs by making more farmers and ranchers eligible for participation.

Links to Caribbean Area NRCS Conservation Programs
  • Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG)
  • Conservation Reserve Program (CRP Farm Service Agency)
  • Conservation Security Program (CSP)
  • Conservation Technical Assistance (CTA)
  • Environmental Quality Incentives National Program Information (EQIP)
  • Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative (GLCI)
  • Grassland Reserve Program (GRP)
  • Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D)
  • Soil Survey Geographic Database Initiative (SSURGO)
  • Wetlands Reserve National Program (WRP)
  • Wildlife Habitat Incentives National Program (WHIP)
    • Brief Conservation Program Descriptions
  • Conservation Reserve Program (CRP): Reauthorizes the program through 2007; Raises authorization for enrollment to an overall acreage cap of 39.2 million acres; Expands the Farmable Wetland Pilot Program to become available Nationwide with an aggregate acreage cap of 1 million acres; Allows landowners to continue with existing ground cover where practicable and consistent with wildlife reserve benefits of CRP; and Provides for managed haying (including for biomass) and grazing.
  • Conservation Security Program (CSP) Establishes CSP for fiscal years 2003 through 2007 to reward stewardship and provide an incentive to address additional resource concerns on agricultural working lands.
  • Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) Reauthorizes the program through 2007 with greater funding resources; Eliminates geographic priority areas; Allows for expenditure of funds in the first year of the contract; Eliminates the cap on large confined livestock operations; Provides an overall payment limitation of $450,000 per producer, regardless of the number of farms or contracts, over the authorized life of the 2002 Farm Bill; Specifies contract length, from a minimum of one year beyond completion of the project to a maximum of 10 years; Prohibits the process of bidding-down (competitive cost share reduction among program applicants); Allows up to 90 percent cost-share for beginning or limited resource farmers and ranchers; and Allows the Secretary of Agriculture to use a portion of EQIP funds in each of fiscal years 2003 through 2007 for Conservation Innovation Grants.
  • Farmland Protection Program Act (FPPA) Reauthorizes the program through 2007 with greater funding resources; Removes the existing acreage limitation, expands the definition of eligible land, and makes agricultural land that contains historic or archaeological resources eligible for enrollment; Includes nonprofit organizations as eligible entities for program participation; and Allows the Secretary of Agriculture to provide grants (through an authorization of appropriations) for use in carrying out farm viability programs.
  • Grasslands Reserve Program (GRP) Authorizes enrollment of up to 2 million acres of restored, improved, or natural grassland, rangeland, and pastureland, including prairie.
  • Resource Conservation and Development Program (RC&D): Provides permanent reauthorization of the program and makes technical and conforming changes to the program.
  • Wetland Reserve Program (WRP) Reauthorizes the program through 2007; Increases the overall program acreage cap to 2,275,000 acres; and caps annual acreage enrollment at 250,000 acres.
  • Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP) Provides for up to 15 percent of annual WHIP funds for increased cost-share payments to producers to protect and restore essential plant and animal habitat using agreements with a duration of at least 15 years.
    • Contact

    For more information on NRCS Caribbean Area Programs, please contact José A. Castro: 787-766-5206, x. 226

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