The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) serves in a number of different capacities. In regard to conservation, the Indiana National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is the state-wide subdivision of the national NRCS program and offers a number of conservation programs in Steuben County. Contact District Conservationist Arthur Franke at either art.franke@usda.gov or (260) 665-3211 ext. 3 for more information.

• Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is a program where farmers, in exchange for an annual rent payment, agree to remove environmentally sensitive land from agricultural production as well as plant species which help improve environmental health. Contracts for land enrolled in CRP are normally 10 to 15 years in length.
• Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) is a program which works to help build and improve existing conservation efforts while strengthening the overall agricultural operation. The CSP is unique in that it can be custom-tailored to a number of different conservation needs, including the improvement of grazing conditions, crop resiliency, or the development of wildlife habitat. CSP is the largest conservation program in the United States.
• Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) is a program which provides financial and technical assistance for agricultural producers and non-industrial forest managers in addressing natural resource concerns as well as delivering a number of environmental benefits.
• Wetland Reserve Easements (WRE), a component of the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program, work to help restore, protect, and enhance enrolled wetlands directly through the purchase of a wetland reserve easement.

Other Programs

Farmers.gov On the farmers.gov portal, producers can: manage conservation activities; request assistance; view, download, and e-sign documents; and view detailed information on all previous and ongoing contracts, including the amount of planned and received cost-share assistance.

Farm Service Agency  The Farm Service Agency implements agricultural policy, administers credit and loan programs, and manages conservation, commodity, disaster and farm marketing programs through a national network of offices.