By Blake Jackson
The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Missouri is offering financial and technical assistance to eligible farmers and landowners through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP).
Funding is available for seven regional partnership projects, and applications must be submitted by November 29, 2024.
Here's a breakdown of the available projects:
- Restoring & Improving Monarch Ecosystems (PRIME): This project aims to increase monarch and pollinator habitat in Northwest Missouri through land management practices like prescribed burning and short-term land rental payments. Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever are leading this project.
- Precision Farm Data & Strategic Buffer Project: This project uses on-farm yield data to identify marginal cropland and establish field borders, pollinator habitat, or wetlands to improve profitability and water quality. The Missouri Department of Conservation is leading this project.
- Sand Prairie Restoration Partnership Program: This project focuses on restoring and protecting sand prairie communities through perpetual easements. The Missouri Department of Conservation is leading this project.
- Missouri Targeted Conservation: This project identifies areas within watersheds where conservation practices can most effectively reduce sediment, nutrients, and pathogens in waterways. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources is leading this project.
- Increasing On-Farm Resilience to Drought and Flood in Missouri: This project aims to improve agricultural sustainability by implementing practices that enhance soil health, forage diversity, and water delivery capacity while reducing sediment, nutrient, and pathogen loss. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources is leading this project.
- James River Headwaters RCPP: This project focuses on protecting clean drinking water, improving the local farming community, and assisting municipalities in meeting federal water quality requirements. The Watershed Committee of the Ozarks Inc. is leading this project.
- Improving Grassland Health and Connecting Resilient Lands RCPP: This project aims to improve forage production and wildlife diversity, particularly for Prairie Chicken populations, through grassland and grazing management practices. The Nature Conservancy is leading this project.
RCPP promotes collaboration between NRCS and partners to address natural resource concerns and implement innovative conservation solutions. Through RCPP, NRCS co-invests with partners to achieve measurable improvements and outcomes.
Individuals and entities are eligible to participate in RCPP. Applications must be received by November 29, 2024, to be considered for this round of funding. Interested applicants can contact their local USDA-NRCS Field Office to sign up.
Photo Credit: usda-nrcs
Categories: Missouri, Government & Policy