NRCS in Missouri 2004

October 1, 2003 - September 30, 2004

Conservation Technical Assistance

Technical assistance is simply about helping people. NRCS employees provide conservation options, recommendations, planning, or application assistance to individual farmers, ranchers, local governments, and even individual homeowners.

During Fiscal Year 2004, NRCS and its partners in Missouri helped land users apply conservation systems on 586,997 acres and plan conservation measures that, when applied, would protect another 887,451 acres.

They helped establish irrigation management systems on 25,064 acres in southeastern Missouri, helped establish prescribed grazing systems on 157,147 acres in the state’s grassland areas, assisted with pest management on 61,267 acres, assisted with nutrient management on 65,819 acres, and helped landowners improve wildlife habitat on 96,918 acres throughout the state.

Missouri’s natural resources conservation team also provided technical assistance to install 81 animal waste management systems.

Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)

EQIP promotes agricultural production and environmental quality as compatible goals. EQIP provides financial and technical help to install or implement structural and management conservation practices on agricultural land.

In Fiscal Year 2004, Missouri farmers received more than $18 million in EQIP financial assistance. It funded 1,520 of the 1,936 Missouri EQIP applications. This financial assistance will help install conservation practices that will reduce soil erosion, use water more efficiently, and improve grazing land, wildlife habitat and water quality.

Watershed Program (PL-566)

The Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act authorizes NRCS to provide assistance to local organizations in planning and implementing watershed projects.

In Fiscal Year 2004, Missouri’s $4.6 million allotment of PL-566 watershed implementation funds was used to award 11 contracts in 12 watersheds. The contracts are for constructing 38 floodwater retarding structures, two pumping plants to prevent flooding in Willow Creek, improving the Neosho city park along Hickory Creek, and for streambank stabilization along McKenzie Creek in Piedmont.

Through an agreement with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources’ Division of State Parks, NRCS awarded a contract to rehabilitate the Williams Creek Watershed dam in Watkins Woolen Mill State Park and Historic Site. The dam is being updated to meet current safety requirements. It is the first watershed rehabilitation project in Missouri.

Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP)

WRP helps landowners restore wetlands on agricultural and non-agricultural lands. Restored wetlands provide wildlife habitat for migratory birds, threatened and endangered species and other wetland wildlife. WRP started as a pilot in Missouri in 1992. To date, 717 applications have been funded statewide encompassing 104,303 acres. During Fiscal Year 2004, NRCS enrolled 53 applications covering 10,079 acres.

Cooperative Soil Survey Program

In Fiscal Year 2004, the Missouri Cooperative Soil Survey continued to be a leader in maintaining the initial soil survey information and in delivering this information to the public. The state’s partnership continues to be proactive, and is a national leader in both progress and innovation.

Last year, this partnership effort provided customers with updated soils information about more than 2 million acres (about 5 percent of Missouri’s land area).

Missouri soils information has been distributed on the National Soil Data Mart, http://soildatamart.nrcs.usda.gov, and on the state-supported CARES web site: http://soils.missouri.edu/surveys/soildata.html.

Current activities are focused on bringing the soils information for the state to a consistent and more usable format. A state legend for soil symbols has been adopted, resulting in a uniform set of soil symbols that will join across county boundaries.

Farm and Ranch Land Protection Program (FRPP)

FRPP provides an opportunity for USDA to purchase development rights from private landowners to keep productive farmland in agricultural use and to protect historical sites on agricultural land. USDA provides matching funds to organizations with existing farmland protection procedures to help them acquire permanent conservation easements from landowners interested in maintaining their current farming enterprise.

In Fiscal Year 2004, Missouri NRCS received funding to help organizations protect 481 acres of privately owned, prime farmland from development.

Grassland Reserve Program (GRP)

GRP offers landowners an opportunity to restore and protect grassland and pastureland rather than converting it to cropland or other uses. In FY 2004, $3.4 million in financial assistance was available in Missouri.

These funds were used for permanent easements on 668 acres of remnant native prairie, and to enter into rental agreements with producers on more than 13,000 grassland acres.

Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D)

The premise of the RC&D program is that local people know what is best for their communities. Because of this, local people create and organize their own RC&D areas, define their own goals, and work with a broad range of public and private entities to achieve their objectives. 

Missouri’s eight, multi-county RC&D areas completed 164 projects during Fiscal Year 2004. Those activities improved water quality, provided information and education assistance, resolved waste utilization issues, and supported rural tourism. They also benefited fish and wildlife, economic development, forestry, cultural resources, and local natural resources.

Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP)

WHIP is designed to maintain ecosystem diversity by improving habitats of reduced or declining wildlife populations within agricultural systems. Missouri obligated more than $600,000 with 96 contracts during Fiscal Year 2004.

Conservation Partnership Initiative (CPI)

CPI targets watersheds of special significance and other geographic areas of environmental sensitivity. It funds projects that focus technical and financial resources on conservation priorities in those areas.

During Fiscal Year 2004, the Missouri Department of Conservation received a $138,000 matching grant from USDA to develop a plan to improve habitat for bobwhite quail. The project is one of six awarded by USDA. It is sponsored by MDC in partnership with the University of Missouri, Quail Unlimited and NRCS.

Missouri's Annual Program Reports Archive

Missouri Downloadable Publications

Missouri Success Stories

For more information on Missouri news items or publications, please call Public Affairs, (573) 876-0911.