NRCS and its partners in Missouri helped land users 

plan and apply conservation systems 

on more than 900,000 acres during Fiscal Year 2008.
 Natural Resources Conservation Service

Conservation Technical Assistance (CTA)

Technical assistance is simply about helping people. The 

CTA program provides technical assistance supported by 

science-based technology and tools to help people conserve, maintain, and improve natural resources. The CTA 

program provides the technical capability (including direct 

conservation planning, design, and implementation assistance) that helps people plan and apply conservation on 

the land. This assistance is provided to individuals, groups, 

and communities that make natural resource management 

decisions affecting private, and other non-federal lands. 

Conservation Security Program (CSP)

CSP supports ongoing stewardship of private agricultural 

lands by providing financial assistance for maintaining and 

enhancing natural resources. CSP identifies and rewards 

landowners and farmers who are meeting the highest standards of conservation and environmental management. 

Since CSP was first offered in 2004, the program has been 

active in nine watersheds across Missouri, resulting in 

1,636 CSP contracts. During Fiscal Year 2008, Missouri’s 

1,636 contract participants earned payments totaling more 

than $28 million.

In 2008, NRCS entered into new CSP contracts with 64 

participants in the Lower Missouri-Crooked watershed in 

central Missouri. These 64 contract participants earned 

than $240,000.

NRCS provided assistance to establish irrigation

management systems on 28,500 acres in 

Missouri, helped establish prescribed grazing 

systems on 126,300 acres in the state’s grassland

areas, assisted with pest management on 

96,900 acres, and nutrient management on 

137,700 acres. NRCS also helped landowners

improve wildlife habitat on 83,100 acres 

throughout the state and to re-establish or 

improve 6,800 acres of forestland in the state.

NRCS provided assistance to Missouri landowners

to improve air quality and conserve energy by 

assisting with the installation of nearly 25,000 

feet of windbreak around farmsteads and 

animal feeding facilities. NRCS also helped 

conserve energy by providing assistance to 

reduce cropland tillage on 195,700 acres and 

to add legumes to existing crop rotations on 

269,300 acres.

Missouri’s natural resources conservation team 

also provided technical assistance to install

106 animal waste management systems 

through the implementation of comprehensive nutrient management plans. 

Helping People

 Help the Land.
Natural Resources Conservation Service 

Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG)

CIG is a voluntary program intended to stimulate the 

development and adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies. It leverages Federal 

investment in environmental enhancement and protection in conjunction with agricultural production. Under 

CIG, Environmental Quality Incentives Program funds 

are used to award competitive grants to non-Federal 

organizations, Tribes or individuals.

The University of Missouri received approval in Fiscal 

Year 2008 to perfect variable-rate nitrogen application 

on corn using sensors that measure chlorophyll in the 

crop canopy. The “Helping Corn and Cotton Producers 

to Reduce Nitrogen Loss Using Crop Sensors” project 

will result in an Economic Optimum Nitrogen Rate that 

corn and cotton producers can use to gain more efficiency 

in applying nitrogen fertilizer while maximizing profits. 

NRCS is providing $410,317 to support this work.

Through a separate 2006 grant, the University of Missouri 

received $241,400 to demonstrate farm profitability from 

utilizing various management techniques that promote soil 

and water conservation practices while improving pastures.

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) received 

$190,600 for a project initiated during 2005 to evaluate a 

relatively new grassland management system. The “Evaluation

of a Grazing System for Maintaining Grassland Integrity 

and Improving Upland Bird Habitat” project, commonly 

referred to as the “patch-burn grazing” project, needed to 

be investigated before managers and private landowners 

in Missouri could fully adopt the system. MDC designed 

this project to investigate the results of patch-burn grazing 

on plant species composition, floristic quality and habitat for 

grassland birds, and cattle performance.

Cooperative Conservation Partnership 

Initiative (CCPI)

CCPI targets watersheds of special significance and other 

geographic areas of environmental sensitivity. It funds projects 

that focus technical and financial resources on conservation 

priorities in those areas. 

The University of Missouri-Columbia received $181,426 to

complete rapid watershed assessments on four Missouri 

watersheds: Sac River; South Grand River; Lower Osage River;

and the Lower Gasconade River. The assessments will provide

initial estimates of where conservation investments would best

address the concerns of landowners, conservation districts, 

and other community organizations and stakeholders. 

Landowners and leaders can use this information to set local 

priorities and determine the best actions to achieve their goals.

Environmental Quality Incentives Program 

(EQIP)

EQIP promotes agricultural production and environmental 

quality as compatible goals. It provides financial and technical assistance to install or implement structural and management conservation practices on agricultural land.

Missouri farmers received $24.8 million in EQIP financial 

assistance in Fiscal Year 2008. It funded 1,756 of the 2,703 

Missouri EQIP applications. This financial assistance will 

help install conservation practices that will reduce soil erosion, use water more efficiently, and improve grazing land, 

wildlife habitat and water quality. 
Natural Resources Conservation Service 

Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP)

The Emergency Watershed Protection program provides 

technical and financial assistance to reduce hazards to 

life and property from floods, ice storms, earthquakes, 

tornadoes, or other watershed impairments caused by 

a natural event. All practices must be economically and 

environmentally defensible and conform to NRCS technical standards. Typical work in Missouri includes repair of 

floodplain levees, removal of sediment and debris from 

drainageways, removal of logjams that cause significant 

problems, and streambank protection near public facilities.

During Fiscal Year 2008, NRCS provided EWP assistance 

for recovery from four storms:

• A 2007 ice storm resulted in 54 Damage Survey Reports 

(DSRs) requesting $1 million in financial assistance. The 

EWP work provided benefits worth $3 million to about 

194,000 people.

• A March 2008 flood resulted in two exigency DSRs to 

repair levee failures. NRCS provided $1 million in financial assistance, which resulted in $3 million in benefits 

for 35 private properties, 84 public properties, and more 

than 186,000 residents in southeastern Missouri.

• A May 2008 flood resulted in 31 DSRs for $1.5 million 

in financial assistance, with benefits exceeding $7.2 million to more than 10,000 people, 114 private properties 

and 10 public properties. Projects were primarily to 

repair levee failures in northwestern Missouri.

• In response to a June 2008 flood, NRCS provided 

$250,000 in financial assistance for repair of levee failures in northwestern Missouri.

Farm and Ranch Land Protection Program 

(FRPP)

FRPP provides an opportunity for USDA to purchase 

development rights from private landowners to keep productive farmland in agricultural use and to protect historical sites on agricultural land. USDA provides matching 

funds to organizations with existing farmland protection 

procedures to help them acquire permanent conservation 

easements from landowners interested in maintaining their 

current farming enterprise.

In Fiscal Year 2008, Missouri NRCS enrolled one tract 

which would protect 10 more acres adjacent to Wilson’s 

Creek National Battlefield, near Springfield, from development. Two tracts protecting 180 acres in the same area 

were enrolled the previous year.

Grassland Reserve Program (GRP)

GRP offers landowners an opportunity to restore and protect grassland and pastureland rather than converting it 

to cropland or other uses. In Fiscal Year 2008, more than 

$80,000 in financial assistance was paid to Missouri landowners to permanently protect 224 acres of grassland from 

conversion. 

The above photos show a Lawrence County stream clogged with debris following flooding in March, 2008. The photo on the left was taken 

March 20, 2008. The photo on the right was taken April 16, 2008, after the removal of debris and logjams. The cleanup was funded by EWP.
 Natural Resources Conservation Service

Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative (GLCI)

The Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative is a nationwide 

collaborative process of individuals and organizations 

working to maintain and improve the management, productivity, and health of the nation’s privately owned grazing land. This process has formed coalitions that represent 

the grass root concerns that impact private grazing land. 

The coalitions actively seek sources to increase technical 

assistance and public awareness activities that maintain or 

enhance grazing land resources.

In Fiscal Year 2008, NRCS in Missouri received a 

Congressional earmark for $890,768 for a cooperative 

GLCI effort with the Missouri Forage and Grassland 

Council. The funds were used to: 

• conduct an annual educational conference attended by 

100 people

• conduct 30 basic grazing schools with attendance of 600

• conduct four advanced grazing schools for 125 people

• conduct four regional forage conference attended by 

3,340 people

• conduct 129 field days and workshops attended by 

9,431 people

• conduct six district Grassland Evaluation Contests 

with 314 students representing 67 4-H and FFA teams

• conduct the State Grassland Evaluation Contest with 

64 students participating

• host the five-state Heart of America Grazing 

Conference, attended by 309 people from 12 states.

Plant Materials Program

The Elsberry Plant Materials Center (PMC) helps protect, 

conserve and improve natural resources by providing plant 

materials and plant related technology. It works directly 

with: land users; industry growers in Illinois, Missouri 

and Iowa; and federal, state and local partners. The staff 

researches plants to determine their possible uses in preventing soil erosion, providing wildlife food and cover and 

in protecting related natural resources.

Suitable plants are released from the PMC and made available through nurseries and commercial seed growers. In 

Fiscal Year 2008, the PMC released a source identified 

sideoats gramma named Northern Missouri Germplasm. 

This is a native prairie plant for conservation uses. 

During the PMC’s 74-year history, there have been 87 

plants released. The value of those plants sold in 2008 

by private nurseries and commercial seed growers was 

approximately $7.68 million.

The PMC is also increasing its efforts at evaluating plants 

for bioenergy. A study of in-field weathering effects on 

biomass yield and biofuel quality of warm-season-grass 

species is being evaluated at the PMC. This study compares three native species and miscanthus. The PMC is 

also developing an Indiangrass selection for bioenergy.

Resource Conservation and Development 

(RC&D)

The premise of the RC&D program is that local people 

know what is best for their communities. Because of this, 

local people create and organize their own RC&D areas, 

define their own goals, and work with a broad range of 

public and private entities to achieve their objectives. 

Missouri’s eight, multi-county RC&D areas completed 144 

projects during Fiscal Year 2008, and they have 106 active 

projects. RC&D activities improved water quality, provided 

information and education assistance, resolved waste utilization issues, and supported rural tourism. They also benefited fish and wildlife, economic development, forestry, 

cultural resources, and local natural resources.

NRCS State Grassland Specialist Mark Kennedy, center, advises Leon 

and Helen Kriesler about the condition of plants in one of their paddocks.
Missouri had a $1.6 million allotment of PL-566 watershed 

implementation funds in Fiscal Year 2008. The funds were 

used to award two contracts in two watersheds. The contracts

are for constructing five floodwater-retarding structures.

The Caldwell County Commission has acquired 90 percent 

of the required 900 acres for construction of the 362-acre 

Little Otter Creek multipurpose reservoir. Construction is 

scheduled for 2009.

During Fiscal Year 2008, 32 dams with contracts awarded 

in previous years were constructed.

Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP)

WRP helps landowners restore wetlands on agricultural and 

non-agricultural lands. Restored wetlands provide wildlife 

habitat for migratory birds, threatened and endangered species

 and other wetland wildlife. WRP started as a pilot in 

Missouri in 1992. To date, 837 applications have been 

funded statewide encompassing 127,275 acres. NRCS enrolled

18 applications covering 2,056 acres during Fiscal Year 2008. 

Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP)

WHIP is designed to maintain ecosystem diversity by 

improving habitats of reduced or declining wildlife 

populations within agricultural systems. Missouri obligated 

more than $1.4 million with 116 contracts during Fiscal 

Year 2008. 

Resource Inventories: Soil Survey, NRI, 

and Cultural Resources

The Missouri Cooperative Soil Survey Program provided 

customers with updated soils information for about 1.7 

million acres (about 4 percent of Missouri’s land area) during

Fiscal Year 2008. Missouri continues to be a national leader

 in updating and delivering soil survey information in an 

electronic format. The information is available to all via the

National Web Soil Survey website: websoilsurvey.nrcs.

usda.gov/app/ and on the Soil Data Mart, soildatamart.

nrcs.usda.gov. The Web Soil Survey provides users with 

tools to build a customized soil map and reports. Geographic 

Information System (GIS) users can obtain the latest datasets at the Soil Data Mart.

This year, NRCS staffs conducted two statewide natural 

resources inventories on 4,000 land segments. Each segment 

was approximately 640 acres, and was part of the annual 

National Resources Inventory (NRI) program. The NRI 

is a statistical survey of natural resource conditions and 

trends on U.S. non-Federal land, with inventories conducted

on an annual basis. Information about Missouri’s land use 

and erosion can be found at www.mo.nrcs.gov/technical/

nri/nriindex.html.

Watershed Program (PL-566) 

The Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act 

authorizes NRCS to provide assistance to local organizations 

in planning and implementing watershed projects.

Roger A. Hansen, 

Missouri NRCS 

State Conservationist

601 Business Loop 70 West, Suite 250,

Columbia, Missouri 65203

(573) 876-0901 • www.mo.nrcs.usda.gov

An Equal Opportunity Employer and Provider

NRCS State Biologist Chris Hamilton, educates students about the value 

of prairie wildlife.