Image Credit: USDA
The Tennessee Conservative [By David Seal] –
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) claims not to discriminate. However, if you are “socially disadvantaged” you get financial advantages that others do not get when it comes to Conservation Incentives.
USDA has a conservation incentive program under the banner of Natural Resources Conservation Service (NCRS), essentially a grant program to provide financial incentives to farmers for crop rotation, prescribed burning, nutrient management, carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas mitigation assessment, and a myriad of other conservation practices.
Their website and program materials indicate that if you are a “socially disadvantaged” farmer, you are likely to get more financial incentives than those who are not. According to the USDA definition, those farmers will get “higher payment rates.”
The exact USDA text reads,
“NRCS offers higher payment rates and advance payments to historically underserved (HU) producers who implement conservation practices in an EQIP Conservation Incentive Contract. HU producers include Beginning Farmers, Socially Disadvantaged Farmers, Limited Resource Farmers, and Veterans.”
“Socially Disadvantaged Farmer or Rancher – The term “Socially Disadvantaged” means an individual or entity who is a member of a socially disadvantaged group. For an entity, at least 50 percent ownership in the farm business must be held by socially disadvantaged individuals. A socially disadvantaged group is a group whose members have been subject to racial or ethnic prejudice because of their identity as members of a group without regard to their individual qualities.
These groups consist of the following:
- American Indians or Alaskan Natives
- Asians
- Blacks or African Americans
- Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders
- Hispanics.
Note: Gender alone is not a covered group for the purposes of NRCS conservation programs. The term entities reflect a broad interpretation to include partnerships, couples, legal entities, etc.”
A copy of the website page that describes enhanced incentives is linked here.
To see a copy of the entire USDA Grant Application, a link is provided here.
Certain USDA materials are available in many different languages, including Spanish, Chinese, and Vietnamese.
The overall program is called (EQIP). “The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) is NRCS’ flagship conservation program that helps farmers, ranchers and forest landowners integrate conservation into working lands.” The EQIP Factsheet is linked here.
The Tennessee Conservative News reached out to a local USDA NRCS Office to inquire about the grant program and how “socially disadvantaged” applicants may get financial advantages over other applicants with respect to funding.
A USDA employee (asking to remain anonymous) indicated that a socially disadvantaged participant could get a preferential cost share of 90% paid by USDA with a 10% farmer match. That compares to a 75% USDA grant with a 25% farmer match for non-socially disadvantaged participants.
Responding to our inquiry through the local USDA office, “We want to thank you for inquiring about the Environmental Quality Incentives Program in Tennessee. In fiscal year 2024, we numbered 1,640 contracts covering 258,332 acres. It was a productive year. NRCS encourages our Tennessee land users and all to apply for the EQUIP program.” – data provided by USDA State Public Affairs Officer
TTC readers called attention to discriminatory financial practices by USDA. As the Trump Administration seeks to eliminate discrimination, the Tennessee Conservative News will follow policy developments and report accordingly.
About the Author: David Seal is a retired Jefferson County educator, recognized artist, local businessman, 917 Society Volunteer, and past Chairman of the Jefferson County Republican Party. He has also served Jefferson County as a County Commissioner and is a citizen lobbyist for the people on issues such as eminent domain, property rights, education, and broadband accessibility on the state level. David is also a 2024 winner of The Tennessee Conservative Flame Award & has received an accolade from the Institute For Justice for successfully lobbing the TN legislature to protect property rights. David can be reached at david@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
