NASHVILLE, February 8, 2024 – NRCS Tennessee Acting State Conservationist Dennis Jones announced today the FY2024 Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) Classic application deadline. Tennessee agricultural producers who wish to be considered for funding this fiscal year should apply by Friday, March 8, 2024.

“Through CSP, NRCS helps farmers and ranchers earn payments for maintaining their current level of conservation across their entire operation,” Jones said. “CSP also provides the opportunity for farm operators to expand their conservation activities by adopting new technologies and management techniques.”

CSP provides many benefits, including increased crop yields, decreased inputs, wildlife habitat improvements, and increased resilience to weather extremes. The program is for working lands including cropland, pastureland, rangeland, nonindustrial private forestland, and agricultural land under the jurisdiction of a tribe. Farmsteads and other associated agricultural lands are also included. CSP also provides specific support for organic and transitioning to organic producers.

Tennessee will implement an additional funding opportunity for conservations activities through the socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers (agriculture and forestland) and beginning farmer (agriculture and forestland) ranking pools. NRCS Tennessee will be utilizing an ACT NOW approach. Based on the availability of funds, applications with a score greater than a pre-determined threshold will be preapproved once assessed and ranked until funds have been expelled.

To be eligible, contract participants must meet Farm Bill Program eligibility in conjunction with the Farm Service Agency, which includes meeting the highly erodible land and wetland compliance requirements and the adjusted gross income limits.

Applicants must also:

• Control or own eligible land;
• Develop an NRCS CSP plan of operations;
• Provide a map(s) that identifies and delineates the boundaries of all eligible land uses and acres included in their operation; and
• Identify any ineligible land that is part of their operation.

While applications are accepted throughout the year, interested producers should submit applications to their local NRCS office by the deadline to ensure their operations are considered for FY 2024 funding.

Applications can be taken at all NRCS Tennessee county offices and USDA Service Centers.  To locate an office near you, please click visit the USDA Service Center website. Applications MUST be received in your local service center by 4 p.m. on Friday, March 8, 2024.

Applicants can submit a signed and dated Form NRCS-CPA-1200 in the office, hand delivered, mailed, scanned, emailed, or through an agency-approved business tool (Farmers.gov). If NRCS receives a program application request by other means, such as by telephone, a NRCS representative must manually prepare Form NRCS-CPA-1200, using the date NRCS received the request to establish the application cut-off deadline has been met. NRCS will follow up to obtain the participant’s signature to ensure the application was properly completed prior to ranking.

NRCS continually strives to put conservation planning at the forefront of its programs and initiatives. Conservation plans provide landowners with a comprehensive inventory and assessment of their resources and an appropriate start to improving the quality of soil, water, air, plants, and wildlife on their land.

Contact Garrett Morris at garrett.morris@usda.gov or 615-277-2576, for more information about the CSP program in Tennessee, or visit the NRCS Tennessee website.

Click here to print full pdf version of this news release.

Please visit the NRCS Tennessee website here.

USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. In the Biden-Harris administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America.

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender.

UT/TSU Extension Montgomery County will host a workshop for producers considering transitioning to organic production.

There is no cost but registration is required and may be completed by clicking the link below:  https://forms.gle/S8U3Udoty3s9W3Ra9

When:  January 12^th, 2024

Time:  8:30 am – 3:00 pm (breakfast and lunch provided)

Where:  UT/TSU Montgomery County Extension Office

            1030 Cumberland Heights Road

            Clarksville, TN 37040

Contact Person:  Karla Gargus, Extension Agent III-Horticulture and Small Farms kkean1@tnstate.edu or 931-648-5725

TSU Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP) Workshop Agenda

Montgomery County

January 12, 2024

8:30 – 8:50 am            Registration, Networking & Breakfast

9:00 – 9:45am             Dilip Nandwani TOPP Presentation

9:45-11:00 am             Matthew Young Nuts and Bolts of Organic Certification Process in TN

11:00 – 12:00 pm        NRCS Presentation

12:00 – 1:00 pm          Lunch (catered by Simple Catering by Lisa)

1:00 – 2:00 pm           Ron Eldridge FSA

2:00 – 2:30                   Panel Q&A

The Natural Resources Conservation Service has announced an additional application opportunity for fiscal year 2024 funding for the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) which includes special emphasis projects through NRCS partnerships with the Wetland Reserve Enhancement Partnership and Regional Conservation Partnership Program.

Private landowners or entities are encouraged to apply by Friday, January 5, 2024.

ACEP-Wetland Reserve Easements can be enrolled as 30-year or perpetual, based on the landowner(s) desired management for 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.

ACEP-Agricultural Land Easements are enrolled for perpetuity to protect the long-term viability of the nation’s food supply by preventing conversion of productive working lands to non-agricultural uses.   Applications for the ACEP-Agricultural Land Easement will only be accepted from eligible sponsoring 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.

Through ACEP- Agricultural Land Easement, 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. Applications received after the designated cutoff date of Friday, January 5, 2024, will be considered in the next program year or in subsequent application periods, if announced.

If a landowner is applying for ACEP 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.

Entities and landowners interested in applying for funding in Montgomery county, should visit the NRCS ACEP webpage or contact Montgomery NRCS Service Center.

Contact Garrett Morris (615-277-2576) for more information about the ACEP program in Tennessee.

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

On Nov. 14th the MCSWCD, Kiwanis Club of Clarksville, TN and Kiwanis Club of Hilldale, Clarksville co-hosted our Annual Awards Banquet & Farm City Week. We LOVE to highlight Montgomery’s farmers, FFA/4-H students and Ag teachers!

Thanks to all our area financial sponsors who make this possible – Altra Federal Credit Union, Planters Bank, Legends Bank, F&M Bank, Farm Credit, Cumberland Bank & Trust, Nutrien, Clarksville Area Chamber of Commerce, Montgomery County Farm Bureau!

2023 Annual Awards

Master Conservationist Award –  MARK BARNETT

Conservation Progress Award – ROBERT L. MENEES

Conservation Educator Award (Hilldale Kiwanis) – NATHAN MARTIN

Outstanding Farm Family Award (Chamber of Commerce) – THE SLEIGH FAMILY (RON & ROBIN)

Lester Solomon Award (MCCC) – RUSTY & SUE EVANS

David E. Hinton Scholarship Award (SWCD) – Hagen Albright & Haley Foster

Montgomery Ag Teachers Recognition (Downtown Kiwanis)

Land Judging 1^st place FFA Team Award (Farm Bureau)  – CLARKSVILLE HIGH FFA TEAM 1

Land Judging 2^nd Place FFA Team Award (Nutrien) – CLARKSVILLE HIGH FFA TEAM 2

1^st place Land Judging High Scorer Award (Farm Bureau) – NOAH TRAIL, CHS TEAM 2

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– NRCS GovDelivery

It’s hard to beat produce grown in the Montgomery area. It’s often fresher and tastier, uses less energy for transport, and helps farmers in your community. But the off-season presents a big challenge for farmers who grow fruits and vegetables and for consumers who want to find local produce throughout the year.

When farmers can lengthen the growing season, even by several weeks, their options change. That’s why the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service promotes seasonal high tunnel as such a powerful tool. High tunnels are plastic-wrapped, metal-framed structures that are fairly easy and inexpensive to build. They are designed to extend the growing season into the colder months, helping to increase the availability of local produce, keep plants at a steady temperature and even conserve water and energy.

High tunnels are similar to greenhouses, except they are considered “passively heated.” That means they do not require electricity to heat – only sunlight. The plastic on the frame actually provides enough insulation to add up to 12 extra weeks to the growing season, depending on location. The inside of a high tunnel boasts its own microclimate, often producing crops of higher quality and quantity that those in traditional farm fields. High tunnels are also different than greenhouses in that the plants are actually in the ground, not in pots or on tables. You can think of it as a plastic covering over a field.

High tunnels can cut costs for the producer by conserving water and requiring fewer inputs, like fertilizers or pesticides. In high tunnels, these inputs are often applied through tubes that run along the base of the plants, allowing water and fertilizer to be delivered directly above the soil. Outside of high tunnels, these inputs are often dispersed on a larger scale and require more to ensure the plants receive an adequate amount.

NRCS helps farmers build high tunnels, providing technical expertise and funding.  Local and regional markets often provide farmers with a higher share of the food dollar, and money spent at a local business often continues to circulate within community, creating a multiplier effect and providing greater economic benefits to the area.

For more information, contact your Montgomery County USDA Service Center at 931-368-0252 x 3 or visit nrcs.usda.gov. You can also watch this NRCS video on high tunnels.

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender.