The “NRCS Staffing and Workforce Development Act” Would Help NRCS Hire the Staff Necessary to Help Farmers & Producers Implement Voluntary Conservation Programs

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Representatives Abigail Spanberger (D-VA-07) and Marc Molinaro (R-NY-19) — both Members of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee — on Friday introduced bipartisan legislation to codify the authority by which the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) can directly hire staff to help farmers and producers implement voluntary conservation programs.

NRCS is facing a critical staff shortage. In January 2023, NRCS Chief Terry Cosby projected that the agency would need to hire between 3,000 and 4,000 employees to provide technical assistance to producers and implement conservation programs — including reduced tillage and no-till management systems, cover crops, and prescribed grazing systems. After the agency was granted direct hiring authority by the Biden Administration in February of this year, NRCS Chief Cosby announced that the agency should be able to hire 1,600 new employees by the fall — helping the agency strengthen the conservation workforce and make significant progress toward reaching their staffing goals.

The Spanberger-Molinaro NRCS Staffing and Workforce Development Act would help strengthen the conservation workforce by extending USDA Agriculture and Food Research Initiative – Education and Workforce Development (AFRI-EWD) grant eligibility to community colleges and post-secondary vocational programs that offer one-two year degrees. The legislation would also create a new focus on “paid work-based learning for food and agricultural sciences” under the program. Additionally, the bipartisan legislation allows professionals in the Experienced Services Program — retired NRCS employees who still work part-time — to assist with higher education teaching programs to prepare the next generation of professionals in the conservation workforce.

“Voluntary conservation programs boost producers’ yields, raise farmers’ bottom lines, and protect our natural resources. But, as the only Virginian on the Agriculture Committee, I’ve heard directly from farmers and producers across our Commonwealth about implementation challenges caused by staffing shortages at NRCS,” said Spanberger. “As Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Conservation, Research, and Biotechnology, I’m committed to working to strengthen our conservation workforce. Our bipartisan bill would expand workforce training opportunities for the next generation of conservation professionals, connect Americans with jobs in the conservation workforce, and make sure crop and livestock producers can benefit from the programs available to them.”

“Our bipartisan bill directly addresses the issues Upstate New York farmers are facing when it comes to working with the Natural Resources Conservation Service,” said Molinaro. “By streamlining the hiring process at NRCS, they will be better equipped to address local needs so that farmers can accomplish their conservation goals quicker.”

The NRCS Staffing and Workforce Development Act is endorsed by the Chesapeake Bay Commission, Bipartisan Policy Center Action, and the National Wildlife Federation.

“Producers throughout Virginia and across the Chesapeake Bay watershed are stepping up to implement conservation practices that protect the health of their soils and their local streams,” said Anna Killius, Executive Director, Chesapeake Bay Commission. “This bill will help ensure NRCS staff are ready and able to provide the technical assistance that is so critical to the success of these practices. Engaging students from two-year institutions and work-based learning programs will bring new, well-trained technicians to the field quicker, helping producers maximize benefits to the environment and their bottom line.”

“BPC Action applauds Reps. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) and Marc Molinaro (R-NY) for their leadership on the NRCS Staffing and Workforce Development Act, an important step to supporting the workforce and economic development needs to support vital conservation efforts across America’s working lands,” said Michele Stockwell, President, Bipartisan Policy Center Action. “By extending the NRCS’s direct hiring authority and expanding the eligibility of USDA workforce development grants to community colleges to bolster staffing needs, this bill will help farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners implement important conservation projects by increasing technical expert support.”

Click here for bill text.

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