USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
The Conservation Technical Assistance (CTA) program is a voluntary program administered by the National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to provide land users with the technical assistance needed to maintain and restore healthy productive landscapes. CTA assistance can help address a broad range of conservation topics including enhancement of fish and wildlife habitat, soil loss from erosion, agricultural waste and nutrient management, and long term sustainability of production lands. Land users such as agricultural and silvicultural producers, local governments, citizen groups, Tribal governments, State and Federal agencies, and professional consultants have all benefited from CTA assistance in conservation planning.
CTA is often used as a conservation planning springboard to enter into other programs administrated by Federal, State, and local governments. CTA assists land users in developing long term management goals for production and conservation and provides tools and guidance in achieving those goals.
Many clients begin a relationship with NRCS through technical assistance requests which develop into conservation plans and utilization of Farm Bill conservation programs. In 2012, CTA assisted over 135,000 customers in addressing conservation objectives on some 37 million acres of farm and forest land.
Getting Started:
- Request for CTA program assistance can be made at the local USDA service center.
- CTA program assistance requests are prioritized based on NRCS and local conservation district measures to ensure fair and equitable service. No financial assistance is provided by CTA and there is no cost for utilizing CTA.
