SALINA, KANSAS, Friday, May 3, 2024 ‒ David S. Doctorian, State Conservationist for Kansas, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), has announced a second sign-up period for producers in the South Fork Republican River (SFRR) watershed in Cheyenne County. This special financial assistance opportunity is available through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). The project is locally led by the Cheyenne County Conservation District and the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks. RCPP-SFRR will provide funding to landowners along the river to address plant pest pressure, groundwater depletion, and water quality issues, and will utilize the ACT NOW funding process for fiscal year (FY) 2024.
“These resource concerns can be addressed by implementing brush management, specifically to remove Russian olive, salt cedar, and eastern red cedar trees in rangeland along the river,” said Doctorian. “This RCPP project can also provide funds for alternate water sources for livestock, prescribed grazing, and other practices needed to improve these critical resources.”
Applications for RCPP-SFRR are accepted year-round, and by following the ACT NOW funding process, applications can be preapproved for funding as soon as NRCS staff completes the application ranking and review. This will facilitate a quicker turnaround for participants to enter into a contract.
The final date to apply for this second round of FY 2024 funding is Monday, July 1, 2024. Applications received before this deadline will be planned, assessed, ranked, and submitted in the order received. These applications will be preapproved based on fund availability, and if a ranking score above the threshold level has been met. The threshold score for this batching period will be zero points. Applications received after the deadline will be batched and considered in the next batching period.

“The ACT NOW funding process will allow applicants with high-ranking scores to avoid the long processing time typically associated with conservation programs,” said Doctorian. “This will enable interested and qualified applicants to begin implementing the needed conservation practices sooner and reduce the wait time.”

More information about the RCPP-SFRR project can be found on the Kansas RCPP web page (https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs-initiatives/rcpp-regional-conservation-partnership-program/kansas/regional-conservation), scroll down to find the specific SFRR information. Applications can be submitted at the Cheyenne County USDA Service Center.

To learn more about NRCS programs, producers can contact their local USDA Service Center (https://www.farmers.gov/working-with-us/service-center-locator). Producers can also apply for NRCS programs, manage conservation plans and contracts, and view and print conservation maps by logging into their farmers.gov account (https://www.farmers.gov/account). If you do not have an account, sign up today.

USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. Under 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 safe, 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. To learn more, visit ww.usda.gov