Montgomery County Soil & Water Conservation District

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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USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (866) 632-9992 (Toll-free Customer Service), (800) 877-8339 (Local or Federal relay), (866) 377-8642 (Relay voice users).

Are you new to farming or ranching? We can help you get started or grow your farming operation through a variety of programs and services.

While many of our programs support all farmers, regardless of how long they have been farming, we also offer special provisions within our cost share programs just for beginning farmers and ranchers. Specifically, anyone who has operated a farm or ranch for less than ten years.

In addition to beginning farmers, the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 Farm Bill) includes provisions that address the unique circumstances and concerns of socially disadvantaged, beginning, limited resource, and veteran farmers and ranchers (“historically underserved producers”).

Contact the Montgomery County District office to start farm planning, apply for cost share assistance on conservation smart practices, or some great technical advice!

You may also visit newfarmers.usda.gov for more information.