Agricultural Management Assistance

 

To provide financial assistance to producers on private lands through contracts to construct or improve water management structures or irrigation structures; plant trees for windbreaks or to improve water quality; and mitigate financial risk through production or marketing diversification or resource conservation practices, including soil erosion control, integrated pest management, or transition to organic farming.

Active 10.917 Natural Resources Conservation Service, Department of Agriculture C - Direct Payments For Specified Use; Z - Salaries and Expenses Not applicable. Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000, Title I, Part Subtitle C, Section 524b, Public Law 106-224, 7 U.S.C. 1524, Statute 114,387
The Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000, Title I, Section 133 (Public Law 106-224), which amended the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. Section 1501, et seq.) by adding section524(b). Section 524(b) was further amended by the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (Farm Bill), Public Law 107-171, May 13, 2002. Section 524(b) has been further amended by the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (2008 Act), Public Law 110-246, June 18, 2008. AMA was not in the 2018 Farm Bill; therefore, the program continues through the aforementioned previous Farm Bill amendments. The Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act (15 U.S.C. Section 714) was amended by the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 to provide authorization for the CCC to fund conservation and environmental programs, including AMA. The land must be in one of the 16 following eligible states: Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Applicants must have control of the land for the length of the contract which may not be more than 10 years. Applicants are subject to the Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) Limitations under Section 1001D of the Food Security Act of 1985. The land must be in one of the 16 following eligible states: Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Preapplication coordination is required. Potential applicants must submit documents to the appropriate local NRCS or Conservation District office. 2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards applies to this program. Application forms are available in USDA Service Centers as well as in an automated format on the Internet on the USDA NRCS homepage. Participants must sign a contract which may not be more than 10 years in length based on the conservation plan to receive financial assistance. Financial assistance payments are made directly to the applicant upon satisfactory completion on identifiable units of work. Approval of contracts are made by an authorized representative of the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC). Not applicable. Variable, no specified time. Approval will depend on volume of applications received and available funds. Any participant shall have the right to appeal final adverse or potentially adverse decisions made by NRCS. Contracts that are scheduled for less than 10 years may be extended up to the ten-year contract limit, in order for the participant to complete the practices scheduled in the contract. However, the participant must apply all practices within of the contract duration. A State developed ranking process and ranking criteria will be used. The ranking criteria will emphasize: the construction or improvement of water management structures or irrigation structures; planting of trees for windbreaks or to improve water quality; and mitigating financial risk through production or marketing diversification or resource conservation practices, including soil erosion control, integrated pest management, or transition to organic farming. Eligible producers in approved states may receive financial assistance to construct or improve water management structures or irrigation structures; plant trees for windbreaks or to improve water quality; and mitigate financial risk through production or marketing diversification or resource conservation practices, including soil erosion control, integrated pest management, or transition to organic farming. Not applicable. Not applicable. Maintained in local NRCS office and Federal record centers for specified number of years. Statutory formula is not applicable to this assistance listing.

Matching is voluntary. 25%. AMA participants are eligible for financial assistance payments of up to 75 percent of the estimated incurred cost.

MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. Long term contracts may not be more than 10 years in length. Financial assistance is paid when the practice is performed. Method of awarding/releasing assistance: lump sum for practice completion. Method of awarding/releasing assistance: Lump. For more information on this and other related conservation programs, consult the local telephone directory where your land is located for the location of the nearest USDA service center. For a list of NRCS State offices with telephone numbers and addresses, information is available on the internet at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/. Ronnie Maurer, Branch Chief, Programs Branch, Financial Assistance Programs Division
1400 Independence Ave, SW; Room 4534-S,
Washington, DC 20250 USA
ronnie.maurer@usda.gov
Phone: 202-819-6368 http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/ 12-1004-0-1-302 (Salaries and Expenses) FY 22$939,000.00; FY 23 est $1,037,000.00; FY 24 est $1,037,000.00; FY 21$912,000.00; FY 20$888,000.00; FY 19$858,000.00; FY 18$749,000.00; FY 17$527,000.00; FY 16$842,000.00; - (Direct Payments for Specified Use) FY 22$3,462,000.00; FY 23 est $3,678,000.00; FY 24 est $3,678,000.00; FY 21$3,646,000.00; FY 20$3,609,000.00; FY 19$3,545,000.00; FY 18$3,473,000.00; FY 17$2,512,000.00; FY 16$3,662,000.00; - Not applicable/available. 7 CFR, Part 1465 Not applicable.