Gibson County SCD

Gibson County SCD Scholarship

The Gibson County Soil Conservation District awards a scholarship each year to a deserving student pursuing a career in agriculture. The Deadline is March 1, 2021.

If you would like to apply for this scholarship click on the image below to download a pdf copy of the application. Fill out the application and bring it to the Gibson County Soil Conservation District.

NEWS RELEASE

USDA NRCS in Tennessee Announces Application Deadline for FY2021

Conservation Stewardship Program-Classic

Deadline to Apply is March 26, 2021

TRENTON, February 5, 2021 – The United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is encouraging Tennessee agricultural producers who want to enhance current conservation effort to apply for the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP)-Classic, formerly known as CSP-General.

“The Conservation Stewardship Program is a great opportunity for Tennessee producers and foresters to maintain and build on their existing conservation efforts while strengthening their operation,” said Sheldon Hightower, Tennessee NRCS State Conservationist.

CSP offers additional opportunities to expand on existing conservation efforts by offering conservation practices, enhancements, bundles, and other conservation activities.

Producers who decide to enroll in CSP will have a consultation with their local NRCS conservation planner to evaluate their current management system and the natural resources on their land. The NRCS conservation planner will then present a variety of CSP conservation activities for the producer to consider implementing in order to address additional natural resource concerns.

While applications are accepted on a continuous basis, applications must be submitted by March 26, 2021 to be considered for fiscal year 2021 funding. Through CSP, agricultural producers and forest landowners earn payments for:

•actively maintaining the existing level of conservation based on the land uses included in the contract and NRCS assessment of existing stewardship at the time of enrollment, and

•implementing additional conservation activities.

Producers interested in CSP are encouraged to contact the Trenton USDA Service Center or visit www.nrcs.usda.gov/GetStarted. For more information about the CSP program, contact Dustin Graham at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 731-855-0023 Ext.3

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (866) 632-9992 (Toll-free Customer Service), (800) 877-8339 (Local or Federal relay), (866) 377-8642 (Relay voice users).

Tennessee NRCS Announces FY 2021 Application Deadline for Eligible Agricultural Entities and Individual Landowners to Apply for ACEP Deadline to apply is February 8, 2021

The United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Tennessee announced an application deadline for eligible entities to apply for fiscal year 2021 funding for the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP). The deadline to apply is Monday, February 8, 2021.

“NRCS may establish additional application cutoff dates based on funding and interest in the ACEP program and, if an additional funding period is approved, a 30-day-minimum application period will be announced,” said Sheldon Hightower, State Conservationist, Tennessee NRCS.

Applications for the ACEP-Agricultural Land Easement (ALE) will only be accepted from eligible entities, not individual landowners. Eligible entities include State or local units of government, Indian Tribes or nongovernmental organizations, such as a conservancy or a land trust. ALE is only available as a perpetual easement.

ACEP's agricultural land easements not only protect the long-term viability of the nation's food supply by preventing conversion of productive working lands to non-agricultural uses, they also allow landowners to successfully restore, enhance and protect habitat for wildlife on their lands, reduce damage from flooding, recharge groundwater, and provide outdoor recreational and educational opportunities.

“Tennessee is committed to preserving working agricultural lands to help protect the long-term viability of farming across the landscape as well as to restoring and protecting vital sensitive wetlands that provide important wildlife habitat and improve water quality,” said Hightower.

Qualified individual landowners may apply for the ACEP – Wetland Reserve Easements (WRE) Program. Only qualified landowners with a complete application package will be considered for land eligibility determination.

ACEP-WRE can be enrolled as 30-year or perpetual, based on the landowner(s) desired management of the offered property. 30-year easements are valued at 25 percent less than perpetual easements and landowners are responsible for 25 percent of restoration costs whereas perpetual easements are eligible for a 100 percent restoration cost-share. Alternatively, landowners have the option to offer their property at a reduced purchase and/or restoration cost to improve application ranking.

If a landowner is applying for ACEP-WRE on multiple parcels of land, any non-contiguous parcels must be submitted as separate applications. Contiguous multiple parcels may be submitted as one application, provided the ownership is identical for each parcel.

Applications received after the designated cutoff date of Monday, February 8, will be considered in subsequent application periods or in the next program year.

ACEP was re-authorized under the 2018 Farm Bill and authorizes assistance to qualified partners who pursue ‘buy-protect-sell’ transactions under ACEP-ALE. It also requires a conservation plan for highly erodible land that will be protected by an agricultural land easement and increases flexibility for partners to meet cost-share matching requirements.

Through ACEP-ALE, NRCS provides financial assistance to eligible partners for purchasing agricultural easements that protect the agricultural use and conservation values of eligible

land. In the case of working farms, the program helps farmers keep their land in agriculture.

ACEP-WRE allows landowners to successfully restore, enhance, and protect habitat for wildlife on their lands, reduce damage from flooding, recharge groundwater, and provide outdoor recreational and educational opportunities.

Entities and landowners interested in applying for ACEP-ALE or WRE funding should visit with their local NRCS Service Center.

For more information about the ACEP program, contact Dustin Graham, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., (731) 855-0023 ext 3 or visit the Tennessee NRCS website.