Montgomery County Soil Conservation District

LEASE OF GOVERNMENT LAND FOR AGRICULTURAL PURPOSES FORT CAMPBELL MILITARY RESERVATION

OPENING OF SEALED BIDS:
February 10,2021
10:30 a.m. CST

LOCATION OF BID OPENING:
Building 6645, 101st Airborne Division Road Fort Campbell, Kentucky 42223 Intersection of Lafayette Road and 101st Airborne Division Road, outside Gate 10.

SEAL BIDS CAN BE MAILED TO:
US Army Corps of Engineers
ATTN: Barry Tucker
P.O. Box 100
Fort Knox, KY 40121-0100

CONTACT:  Rehanon Pampell, 270-461-2244

Bidders may also personally submit sealed bids to the bid opening officials no later than 10:30
a.m. Central Time, on February 10, 2021. All bids will be opened publicly.

FULL DISCLOSURES & DESCRIPTION CLICK HERE

DON’T MISS THIS SIGNUP!! DEADLINE MARCH 26, 2021

Tennessee agricultural producers who want to enhance current conservation efforts and expand on existing conservation efforts by establishing new conservation practices, enhancements, bundles, and other conservation activities should consider applying for the CONSERVATION STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM (CSP).

Producers who decide to enroll in CSP will have a consultation with their local NRCS conservation planner to evaluate their current management system and the natural resources on their land. The NRCS conservation planner will then present a variety of CSP conservation activities for the producer to consider implementing in order to address additional natural resource concerns.

Applications must be submitted by March 26, 2021 to be considered for fiscal year 2021 funding.  Contracts will be 5 year contracts, payments made annually.

Through CSP, agricultural producers and landowners can earn payments through this program by maintaining the existing level of conservation and by implementing new conservation practices and activities.

If you are a producer and are interested in CSP, contact our office to discuss your options – 931.368.0252 x 3.

Beginning Farmer Outreach workshop series to be held on the first Friday of the month from March-October from 12:00pm – 1:30 pm CDT.

Class schedule:

March 5th:   Welcome and Introduction Extension and USDA Programs-various program partner presenters

April 9th:  Regenerative Agriculture Concepts (moved due to April 2 Holiday):  Jim Artman, East TN Coordinator for FVC, Founder/CEO Appalachian Grit

May 7th:  Veterans Employed in Technology and Service in Agriculture (VETSA) Program Information:  Ardis Porter, Program Manager

June 4th:  Soil Conservation Plans and Programs Veterans (SEPM):  Craig Underwood, Soil Conservation Technician/USDA/NRCS/Veterans SEPM

August 6th: Farm Succession Planning:  Iris Cui, UT Area MANAGE Specialist

September 3rd:  Incorporating Cover Crops into Your Farming Operation:  Nathan Hicklin, DC Soil Conservation/USDA

October 1st:  Graduation Luncheon and Advisory Meeting *Those attending all sessions will receive a certificate and invite to luncheon.

Sessions will be held using a combination of small groups meeting via face-to-face and virtual via zoom.  The focus this year will be on regenerative farm practices, soil conservation/cover cropping practices as well as business development.

*Beginning farmers and ranchers, whether intending to farm full-time or for  supplemental income, face many important and interrelated decisions that affect their success and will benefit from participating in this program.  Over the past 10 years, the interest in small farms and market gardening has grown substantially lending to an open audience ready to receive information on beginning farming.

There will be no fee to attend this program; however, you must complete the 2-step registration process as indicated below.

1. Register Contact Information Here: https://forms.gle/63ARBpooqQCLfToGA

1. Register in zoom to receive link for this meeting: https://tennessee.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAqfu-vpj4oHN3KFHXWeRfZQ62_dhztPmJY

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

LOCATION OPTION 1:  Via ZOOM Link to your home computer or smart phone

LOCATION OPTION 2: On-site (limited to first 15 registrants requesting this), Montgomery County Extension, 1030 Cumberland Heights Road, Clarksville, TN.  Face masks required; to permit social distancing there is room for 15 participants.  Notifications will be sent out for each additional class.

Funded in part by:

National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under Award Numbers 2017-70017-26859 & Award 2016-70017-25573

USDA’s Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers and Veteran Farmers and Ranchers Program (2501 Program)

PLANTING SEASON is almost here – contact us to reserve the no-till setter, first come first serve, $50/acre.

GO HERE TO RESERVE SETTER OR ROLLER

The United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Tennessee announced an application deadline for eligible entities to apply for fiscal year 2021 funding for the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP). The deadline to apply is Monday, February 8, 2021.
“NRCS may establish additional application cutoff dates based on funding and interest in the ACEP program and, if an additional funding period is approved, a 30-day-minimum application period will be announced,” said Sheldon Hightower, State Conservationist, Tennessee NRCS.
Applications for the ACEP-Agricultural Land Easement (ALE) will only be accepted from eligible entities, not individual landowners. Eligible entities include State or local units of government, Indian Tribes or nongovernmental organizations, such as a conservancy or a land trust. ALE is only available as a perpetual easement.
ACEP’s agricultural land easements not only protect the long-term viability of the nation’s food supply by preventing conversion of productive working lands to non-agricultural uses, they also allow landowners to successfully restore, enhance and protect habitat for wildlife on their lands, reduce damage from flooding, recharge groundwater, and provide outdoor recreational and educational opportunities.
“Tennessee is committed to preserving working agricultural lands to help protect the long-term viability of farming across the landscape as well as to restoring and protecting vital sensitive wetlands that provide important wildlife habitat and improve water quality,” said Hightower.
Qualified individual landowners may apply for the ACEP – Wetland Reserve Easements (WRE) Program. Only qualified landowners with a complete application package will be considered for land eligibility determination.
ACEP-WRE can be enrolled as 30-year or perpetual, based on the landowner(s) desired management of the offered property. 30-year easements are valued at 25 percent less than perpetual easements and landowners are responsible for 25 percent of restoration costs whereas perpetual easements are eligible for a 100 percent restoration cost-share. Alternatively, landowners have the option to offer their property at a reduced purchase and/or restoration cost to improve application ranking.
If a landowner is applying for ACEP-WRE on multiple parcels of land, any non-contiguous parcels must be submitted as separate applications. Contiguous multiple parcels may be submitted as one application, provided the ownership is identical for each parcel.
Applications received after the designated cutoff date of Monday, February 8, will be considered in subsequent application periods or in the next program year.
ACEP was re-authorized under the 2018 Farm Bill and authorizes assistance to qualified partners who pursue ‘buy-protect-sell’ transactions under ACEP-ALE. It also requires a conservation plan for highly erodible land that will be protected by an agricultural land easement and increases flexibility for partners to meet cost-share matching requirements.
Through ACEP-ALE, NRCS provides financial assistance to eligible partners for purchasing agricultural easements that protect the agricultural use and conservation values of eligible land. In the case of working farms, the program helps farmers keep their land in agriculture.
ACEP-WRE allows landowners to successfully restore, enhance, and protect habitat for wildlife on their lands, reduce damage from flooding, recharge groundwater, and provide outdoor recreational and educational opportunities.

Entities and Montgomery County landowners interested in applying for ACEP-ALE or WRE funding should call the CLARKSVILLE USDA SERVICE CENTER, 931-368-0252 X 3.  Deadline to apply is February 8, 2021.
For more information about the ACEP program, contact Jamie Carpenter, jamie.carpenter@usda.gov, (615) 277-2576 or visit the Tennessee NRCS website.
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