NRCS in Missouri 2005

October 1, 2004 - September 30, 2005

During fiscal year 2005, NRCS and its partners in Missouri helped land users plan conservation measures that, when applied, would protect 930,956 acres.

Missouri NRCS helped land users apply conservation systems on 701,256 acres. They helped establish irrigation management systems on38,183 acres in southeastern Missouri, helped establish prescribed grazing systems on 108,846 acres in the state’s grassland areas, assisted with pest management on 81,418 acres, assisted with nutrient management on 79,805 acres, and helped landowners improve wildlife habitat on 55,275 acres throughout the state.

Missouri’s natural resources conservation team also provided technical assistance to install 111 animal waste management systems.

Conservation Technical Assistance

Technical assistance is simply about helping people. NRCS employees provide conservation options, recommendations, planning assistance and application assistance to individual farmers, ranchers, local governments, and individual homeowners. NRCS is able to help people through a variety of programs, most of which are described in this report.

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 2005, Missouri farmers received more than $18 million in EQIP financial assistance. It funded 2,018 of the 2,967 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.

Conservation Security Program (CSP)

CSP supports ongoing stewardship of private, agricultural lands by providing payments for maintaining and enhancing natural resources. CSP identifies and rewards landowners and farmers who are meeting the highest standards of conservation and environmental management.

During Fiscal Year 2005, Missouri funded 1,133 of the 1,240 CSP applications received from the seven watersheds selected to participate during the second year of the program. These contracts will provide more than $122 million over the life of the contracts.

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 2005, Missouri’s $4.3 million allotment of PL-566 watershed implementation funds was used to award 11 contracts in 10 watersheds. The contracts are for constructing 49 floodwater retarding structures.

Through an agreement with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources’ Division of State Parks, NRCS completed rehabilitation of the Williams Creek Watershed dam in Watkins Woolen Mill State Park and Historic Site. The dam was 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, 762 applications have been funded statewide encompassing 112,051 acres. During Fiscal Year 2005, NRCS enrolled 51 applications covering 6,441 acres.

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 2005, $2.8 million in financial assistance was available in Missouri.

These funds were used for permanent easements on 579 acres of remnant native prairie, and to enter into rental agreements with producers on more than 12,500 grassland acres. Cooperative Soil Survey Program. In Fiscal Year 2005, 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 2005, Missouri NRCS committed $611,975 to help organizations protect 471 acres of privately owned, prime farmland from development.

Plant Materials Program

The Elsberry Plant Materials Center (PMC) primarily serves Missouri, Illinois and Iowa. It researches plants to determine their possible uses in preventing soil erosion and protecting other natural resources. Suitable plants are released from the PMC and made available through nurseries and commercial seed growers.

During Fiscal Year 2005, the Elsberry PMC released three new plants for conservation uses. It has released 80 plants during its 71-year history. The retail value of the quantities of those 80 plants sold by private nurseries and commercial seed growers in Missouri, Illinois and Iowa in 2005 was $4.3 million.

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 $550,000 with 79 contracts during Fiscal Year 2005.

Cooperative Conservation Partnership Initiative (CCPI)

CCPI 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.

The Missouri Department of Conservation is developing a plan to improve habitat for bobwhite quail in Andrew and Cass counties. The project is sponsored by MDC in partnership with the University of Missouri, Quail Unlimited and NRCS. Funds are being used to develop a web-based habitat suitability model that will target quail conservation efforts in northwestern Missouri. This model may eventually be used in other areas.

Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG)

The voluntary Conservation Innovation Grants program is intended to stimulate the development and adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies. CIGs will benefit agricultural producers by providing more options for environmental enhancement and compliance with federal, state, and local regulations.

Missouri is part of a seven-state contingent that received a $1 million grant to evaluate vegetative treatments for controlling discharge from cattle feedlots. The other states are Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska.

Missouri and Nebraska – through the Missouri Department of Conservation – also received a $190,000 grant to evaluate a grazing system that could maintain grassland integrity and improve upland game habitat. The project will demonstrate and evaluate vegetative structure and composition of tallgrass prairie flora and wildlife resulting from the use of patch burn grazing at five sites in Missouri and two in Nebraska.

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