Farm Bill Program Technical Assistance

NEW MEXICO ASSOCIATION OF CONSERVATION DISTRICTS

TECHNICAL SERVICE PROVIDER PROGRAM

Technical Service Providers and DCBP Employees, NMACD Annual Conference, Las Cruces

(Left to right) Chester Roan, Gallup; Herman Ortiz, and Morgan Smith (now NRCS Employees); Bobbie Tolton, Lovington; Nadine Lucero, Guadalupe; Ashley Baumgartner, Taos; Beatrice Groven, Hernandez; Isabelle Francisco, San Juan; Autumn Waconda, Lava; and Troy Hood.

January 2020

The New Mexico Association of Conservation Districts (NMACD) manages a Technical Service Provider Program (TSP) in New Mexico to provide services authorized under the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Farm Bill Programs. NMACD administers this Program in cooperation with the following entities: USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), New Mexico Department of Agriculture (NMDA), New Mexico Soil and Water Conservation Commission, Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCD’s) in New Mexico and USDI-Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

The TSP Program was begun in July 2003 by NMACD and consists of three components:

1. An employee program under which NMACD employs technical service providers (Farm Bill Program Employees) who provide program and technical assistance to help NRCS and SWCD’s carry out the Farm Bill Programs. NMACD employees approximately eighteen employees in New Mexico who are assigned to local NRCS field offices under local SWCD’s supervision.

2. The District Capacity Building Program functions under agreements between NMACD and participating SWCD’s. Under this program, the participating SWCD employs and supervises a Farm Bill Program Employee who works part time for the SWCD and part time for the local NRCS Field Office. NMACD reimburses the SWCD for the time for which the employee works for NRCS. There are currently seven SWCDs participating in this program, employing five employees.

3. The use of "on-demand" specialists who are self-employed individuals who provide special technical assistance on an as-needed basis. These specialists provide assistance to meet peak workload needs such as field status reviews and determinations, assistance with brush control applications, and other technical assistance needs. Over twenty former NRCS conservationists, nine professional archaeologists, and a number of other professional conservationists work under agreements with NMACD to provide this assistance.

For information concerning the NMACD’s Farm Bill Technical Service Provider Program, contact:

Troy Hood, NMACD TSP Administrative Coordinator

1102 Villa Rd. SE, Rio Rancho, NM 87124

(505)898-5969(h); (505)280-8102(c); Troy.Hood@q.com.