WASHINGTON, DC -- Earlier this week, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced an investment of $235 million in funding to be applied towards the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). The RCPP, created by the 2014 Farm Bill, is a conservation initiative administered by the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) that enables local leaders across the country to implement programs that will preserve natural resources in their region.
The first round of projects funded through the RCPP was announced earlier this year. USDA awarded $394 million to the first round of RCPP participants in all 50 states that helped fund 115 projects.
The rice industry will benefit significantly from the first round of RCPP funding. RCPP grants were awarded to California and Louisiana in addition to a $10 million national grant to USA Rice and Ducks Unlimited.
“These funds are specifically set aside for rice producers and will be used to help them install NRCS approved conservation practices. The initial Rice RCPP was the first time of its kind and that got attention at NRCS,” said USA Rice’s Vice President of Government Affairs Ben Mosely.
Mosely added, “We’re in the process of implementing the first award and hope to have growers signing up late summer or early fall and we’re already working on a new proposal for the second phase of the RCPP. We plan to build on that platform of the rice industry’s commitment to on-farm management practices that address water quantity, water quality and wildlife habitat.”
USDA plans to invest $1.2 billion in conservation projects through 2018. The
deadline to submit an RCPP proposal is July 8, 2015.
Contact:
Colleen Klemczewski (703) 236-1446