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State Technical Advisory Committee Fact Sheet

What is the State Technical Advisory Committee?

The Food Security Act of 1985, as amended, authorizes the State Technical Advisory Committee to provide recommendations for establishing technical guidelines and program criteria and priorities necessary to carry out conservation provisions of the Farm Bill.

Roles and Responsibilities

The State Technical Advisory Committee may advise the NRCS State Conservationist on many issues. See the following for examples:

  • State program management policies and procedures
  • Technical programmatic recommendations
  • Statewide public information and outreach campaigns
  • Identifying significant statewide natural resource concerns
  • Guidelines for developing ranking criteria for evaluating applications
  • Guidance on eligible conservation practices
  • Technical guidance on conservation practices, including new, innovative practices
  • Cost-share rates and incentive payment limits and methods of payment
  • Identifying, monitoring, and analyzing performance indicators
  • Evaluating and reporting program impacts on natural resources and the environment
  • Coordinating with other Federal, State, tribal, and local public and private activities

Who are the Committee Members?

The NRCS State Conservationist shall act as the Committee Chair. In addition, the state conservationist will ensure equal representation of interests, seriously consider the Committee’s technical advice, and call and provide notice of public meetings.

State Technical Advisory Committees are composed of individuals who represent a variety of natural resource sciences and occupations including soil, water, air, plants, wetlands, and wildlife. To participate on the Committee, individuals or groups may submit to the NRCS State Conservationist a request that explains their interest and outlines their natural resource credentials. Representatives on the committee may include:

  • Natural Resources Conservation Service
  • Farm Service Agency
  • Forest Service
  • Extension Service
  • Farmers Home Administration
  • Fish and Wildlife Service
  • State departments and agencies, including:
  • State fish and wildlife agency
  • State forester or equivalent official
  • State water resources agency
  • State department of agriculture
  • State association of soil and water conservation districts
  • Other agency personnel with expertise in soil, water, wetland, and wildlife management
  • Agricultural producers with demonstrable conservation expertise
  • Nonprofit organizations with demonstrable conservation expertise
  • Persons knowledgeable about conservation techniques
  • Agribusiness

For More Information

Contact the Natural Resources Conservation Service or the local conservation district in your county for more information. The NRCS office is listed in the telephone book under U.S. Government, U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The above information is also available in a printer-friendly version. This document requires Adobe Acrobat.

State Technical Advisory Committee (PDF; 94.9 KB)

Last Modified: 11/16/2005