Page 1: Intro

By completing this form, our staff will have the information we need to help you access natural resource conservation assistance on the farm, ranch, range, and/or forestland you manage. With the following questions, we want to understand:


1. What kind of technical and/or financial assistance you have sought for conservation efforts on your farm before now and if any support has come from the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Resource Conservation Service (USDA NRCS)


2. What kind of NRCS technical and/or financial assistance you would seek further or for the first time if you were better supported in the process


3. What factors might make you eligible for increased assistance opportunities from NRCS


If you have ever contacted or worked with NRCS before, you will have more questions to answer.  Please answer to the best of your ability and a team member will be contacting you to get to know you better and identify the next best steps you can take together to achieve your farm and resource conservation goals.  


This form requests basic information and should take approximately 20 minutes to complete. Your personal information will not be shared with third parties. Your responses may be aggregated and reported to the USDA and private foundations as related to the project.  All information would be anonymously reported.

If you need help completing this form, please contact Jaimie McGirt by phone 984-282-6047 or email: jaimie@rafiusa.org


Si necesitas ayuda completando este formulario, por favor contactar a Carolina Alzate al e-mail: carolina@rafiusa.org.

Page 2: Farmer and Farm Info

Tell us about yourself:








Your Address






Farm Address












Tell us about your farm:



If no name, please enter (your name) farm














Page 3: Interest and Experience with Natural Resource Conservation 

In order to qualify for USDA federal assistance for the farm or ranch you manage, you have to establish contact and records with the USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA).  FSA identifies farmed land by a unique ID number, often called a “farm number.” FSA will issue a farm number after specific documentation is provided to certify you are farming on that land, whether for personal, community, commercial, or industrial food production purposes. The farm number stays with the land, not the individual farmer.  Note: Sometimes land has a pre-existing farm number, issued to a previous farmer or land owner.  


With a farm number from FSA, you may be eligible for farm loans, disaster assistance, or conservation planning and financial assistance from another USDA program: National Resource Conservation Service (NRCS). 








County, State, and Federal resources like financial assistance, educational materials, and technical assistance exist for farmers and ranchers in U.S. mainland states, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands.

Page 4: Conservation Practices

Some government resources are available to farmers and ranchers if they want or need to make enhancements to crop land, pasture, range land, forests/woodlands, waterways, and farm energy systems in order to better protect natural resources like soil, water, air, plants, animals, and energy.  The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) can support farmers with specific enhancements called “Conservation Practices” and these should improve and protect the natural resources on the land you manage and the land beyond.
















Page 5: USDA Programs and Assistance




Page 6: Technical Assistance Cont'd

The USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) program can provide technical and financial assistance to farmers, ranchers, and forestland managers regardless of farm size, farming experience, and food production purpose. 

Qualifying farmers must:

  • Have a farm number and personal identification,
  • Earn less than $900,000 in adjusted gross income,
  • Be producing food/and or responsible for the daily operations of the farm,
  • Have evident problems with soil, water, air, plants, animals, or energy on their land where products are currently produced
  • Must not further degrade quality of land, water, and other resources,
  • Comply with local, state, federal land use regulations





NRCS works with farmers and ranchers in stages, and we are aware that farmers experience challenges with their local NRCS in any or all of the stages, from consultation or getting information, to implementing the conservation project.









Receiving Assistance from RAFI or Project Partners











RAFI has a program to directly support farmers of color, called the Farmers of Color Network. Being a member makes you:
  • Eligible to receive infrastructure and other relief grants (as funds are available)            
  • Eligible for technical assistance services (such as resource referrals, on-farm work exchanges, land use assessments, invitations to Farmer & Buyer Connect events, education about federal, state, and local programs, etc.)                                                      
  • Gain access to media, public policy, training, funding, and leadership opportunities.    
  • Gain the opportunity to be invited to become an Advisor and help shape future ag policy Subscribed to FOCN farmer member-only list

Thank you so much for sharing your experiences, hopes, and plans with RAFI's Conservation Resources for Resilient Farms Project.  If you selected the option to be contacted by a team member for assistance, a team member will contact you within the next two weeks. 

Contact Information