Implementing the Farm Bill

More than 75 percent of the grasses, forbs, shrubs and trees listed in the Field Office Technical Guide (FOTG) are Plant Materials Program (PMP) releases. Plant Materials Program studies have produced over 65 percent of the plant management information used by NRCS. Your Plant Materials staff is available to assist NRCS field offices with species recommendations and planting technology for all the programs in the Farm Bill including:

Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)

Practices addressing erosion control on range and pasture lands, development of wildlife habitat, restoring native plant communities, and revegetating disturbed areas. Adapted native species such as bluebunch wheatgrass, big bluegrass, big bluestem, Indiangrass, and prairie flax. Effective seed mixes, planting times, and seedbed preparation techniques are found in the FOTG.

Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP)

Plants and technology for restoring or enhancing wetland and riparian areas. Adaptive native species include willows, sedges, creeping spike rush, and alkali bulrush. The PMP has developed countless technologies that are adapted to specific ecological regions of the country, including soil bioengineering techniques in wet and dry areas and containers designed for transplanting in arid regions.

Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)

This includes plant materials and technology for practices that address animal waste treatment, nutrient uptake, odor control, windbreaks, living snow fences, pollinators, invasive species suppression, and plant diversity. Improved species include switchgrass, Indiangrass, creeping foxtail, and tall wheatgrass for use in nutrient uptake; hybrid poplars, green ash, dogwoods and willows for odor control and windbreaks; Rocky Mountain juniper and purpleosier willows and other small trees for living snow fences; and western yarrow, coneflower, and sunflowers for pollinators.

Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP)

Plants and technology for practices that address pollinators, revegetation after removal of invasive species, plants to improve wildlife habitat, and plants to provide food and shelter for the species of concern. Adapted plant species include western yarrow, purple prairieclover, black-eyed susan, coneflower, silverberry, sunflowers, switchgrass, basin wildrye, lupines, and lespedeza.

Biomass Research

Research continues on the development of cultural practices that will result in high quality and higher yields of biomass. Species being evaluated include switchgrass, big bluestem, indiangrass, giant miscanthus, and tall wheatgrass.

Chesapeake Bay Program

Plants and technology for a new program to implement vegetative measures on agricultural lands in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

Technical Assistance

Your Plant Materials staff provides new technology and one-on-one technical assistance including:  Recommendations for enhancing ecological diversity, stabilizing streambanks, revegetating wetlands, implementing odor control, establishing buffers, and improving range and pastureland quality.

• Advice on cultural practices, such as seedbed preparation, seed placement, seedling establishment and stand management, etc.

• On-site technical assistance with land managers, and field tours and training sessions for field office and conservation district staff partners, farmers and ranchers, Tribes, limited resource producers, and other land managers.

• Demonstration plantings and cooperative research projects to help local land managers find solutions for specific conservation problems.

• Coordination of seed production with commercial growers to assure seed of adapted conservation plants is available to the public.

• Reference materials, such as brochures, plant guides, technical guides, newsletters and technical articles are available to the public and NRCS personnel on the Plant Materials website at
  http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov.