Iowa NRCS Report

New State Conservationist Jay T. Mar

• North Dakota Native.• NRCS experience in North Dakota,

Wyoming, Delaware and most recently Connecticut. Including former RC&D coordinator.

• Range and wildlife management background.

Budget Briefing• Continuing resolution until March 27• Sequestration—Sec. Vilsack

announced a $2 billion across the board cut for USDA during FY 2013..

• We have prepared for worst and are hoping for best.

• Did affect our ability to commit to partners at previous levels.

Farm Bill XIII Agreement• Still able to fund agreement with CDI

forFarm Bill implementation.

• Signed agreement for $300,000, with hopes we can increase depending on results of sequestration and CRP workload.

CDSI Update• Implementation of the Conservation

Delivery Streamline Initiative (CDSI) has been delayed until at least October 2014.

• CDSI includes three main parts: conservation desktop, client gateway and mobile planner. Each part of CDSI should be fully operational by Fall 2015.

New Farm Bill• Old Farm Bill was extended for one

year. Set to expire on September 30, 2013.

• Program acreage limits (i.e. CSP, CRP, GRP) were not increased and are limited to old Farm Bill.

• New Farm Bill is under construction---again.

FY13 Special Funding Opportunities

• Mississippi River Healthy Watersheds Initiative

• Driftless Area Initiative• National Water Quality Initiative• Greenhouse Gas Initiative• Grass Fed Beef Initiative• Conservation Innovation Grants

(National & State)

Soil Health• National campaign “Unlock the Secrets in

the Soil” launched in October.• Iowa gearing up for state-wide training for

employees, customer outreach, workshops, additional field office tools (test kits, penetrometers) etc.

• New, energized emphasis on soil health: improved crop performance, reduced input costs, better water infiltration (less erosion and flooding and better drought resistance.)

Soil Health in a Minute Videos

• Access Soil Health Videos at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detailfull/national/soils/health/?cid=stelprdb1048858

Cover Crops

Cover Crops

Before…

& After

Before…

& After

Before…

& After

Before…

& After

Before …

& After

MRBI At-A-Glance (FY 10,11,12)Total Contracts

Contract Acres

FA Obligations

CCPI-MRBI Total

429 73,600 $13.7 M

2010 45 5,490 $1.3 M

2011 155 24,790 $6.3 M

2012 229 43,322 $6 M

MBRI-non CCPI

34 4,138 $100,000

Grand Total 463 77,742 $13,766,606

Programs At-A-Glance FY 2012

Dollars Acres Treated Contracts

EQIP $25 M 164,000 1,665

Conservation Stewardship

Program(FY 10,11,12)

$22.1 M 794,000 1,789

Wetlands Reserve Program

$21 M 4,814 53

Grassland Reserve Program

$700,000 785 3

Conservation Security Program

$14.8 M 506,000 1,237

FY12 Backlog At-A-GlanceProgram Dollars Applications

EQIP $80 M 3,490

WRP $36 M 95

Iowa NRCS FY 2013 Priorities

Technical, accountable people serving the public.

TechnicalOn Farm Conservation Planning with Producers

AccountableProper Contract Management

PeoplePromote Partnerships and Teamwork

PublicBuilding New Customer Relationships

Questions?