USDA Conservation Programs: Just-Announced January 15 Deadline Brings Opportunities, and Challenges, for Farmers
- Dr. Success Okafor
- Dec 19, 2025
- 5 min read
Updated: Dec 20, 2025
By MFAI Policy Fellow Dr. Success Okafor
This week, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) announced a January 15 national batching deadline for its major conservation programs. While the compressed timeline presents challenges, it also opens important funding opportunities for farmers prepared to invest in conservation and regenerative practices. Whether you’re exploring conservation programs for the first time or expanding existing practices, now is a great time to act.
What's Available
Farmers and ranchers have until January 15, 2026Â to apply for the first funding round of:
•   Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) - Financial and technical assistance for conservation practices
•   Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) - Rewards for existing conservation efforts and improvements
•   Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) - Protection of agricultural land and wetlands
•       NEW: Regenerative Pilot Program - Targeted assistance through EQIP and CSP for regenerative agriculture practices
The Regenerative Agriculture Opportunity
The inclusion of the new Regenerative Pilot Program in this first batch signals USDA's commitment to supporting farmers transitioning to regenerative practices. This program offers technical and financial support specifically designed for operations implementing:
•   Cover cropping systems
•   Reduced tillage practices
•   Diverse crop rotations
•   Integrated livestock management
•       Soil health improvements
For farmers already moving in this direction, this represents a significant funding opportunity aligned with climate-smart agriculture goals. While this January 15 deadline is the first batching period, NRCS program sign up is continuous throughout the year. Additional funding rounds will follow, but early applicants position themselves for priority consideration.
Why the Timeline Matters:
Capacity, Access, and Equity Concerns
This batching period deadline presents a challenge, combined with recent government disruptions to programs and services, giving farmers less than four weeks during the holiday season to make appointments at USDA offices and prepare applications. While NRCS programs typically operate under continuous sign-up, this initial deadline creates urgency for producers seeking early access to 2026 funding, but the compressed timeline raises serious questions about who will be able to participate.
The timing is particularly challenging given NRCS's ongoing capacity crisis. The agency has lost nearly one in four staff members since January 2025, with over 2,400 employees accepting buyouts and many local offices operating at half capacity or less. At the same time, program details for the new Regenerative Pilot remain "light," according to Farm Bureau, leaving farmers to navigate applications without full guidance on eligibility, ranking criteria, or how practices will be bundled.
Who gets left behind?Â
Traditionally underserved producers, including urban and innovative farmers, specialty crop growers, beginning farmers, and small-scale operations often face the steepest barriers in accessing NRCS programs. These producers sometimes need more technical assistance to navigate complex applications, yet NRCS staff who would normally provide this support are stretched thin or absent entirely. While USDA's Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production will theoretically extend regenerative priorities to urban communities, it remains unclear whether urban producers can realistically compete for these funds given reduced staff capacity and the holiday deadline.
MFAI has for many years provided farmers assistance with navigating the changing farm program landscape, with particular emphasis on those farmers most often left behind. But our federal funding to do this outreach was terminated earlier this year, along with funding for many other agricultural non-profits. From our vantage point, the previous administration's momentum on innovative and urban agriculture, including 17 new Urban Service Centers and targeted technical assistance through groups like ours, created genuine opportunities for innovative producers. Now, as USDA announces $700 million in regenerative agriculture funding, we're watching closely to see whether specialty, niche, and urban producers will have meaningful access or whether limited NRCS capacity will favor producers with existing relationships and simpler applications.
The challenge is both practical and systemic: without adequate technical assistance capacity and clear program guidance, a compressed deadline during the holidays could inadvertently create a two-tiered system where well-resourced operations move forward while precisely the farmers who need regenerative agriculture support the most, those transitioning from conventional systems, beginning farmers, urban producers experimenting with innovative practices, struggle to access it.
What Farmers Should Do Now
1. Contact Your Local NRCS Office
Start the conversation now. NRCS staff can help determine which programs fit your operation and what documentation you'll need. Make an appointment before heading into the office, staff capacity is very limited.
Find your local USDA Service Center here:
2. Review Your Conservation Priorities
Identify practices you're planning for 2026:
•   Infrastructure needs (water systems, fencing, storage)
•   Soil health improvements
•   Resource/Conservation concerns you want to address
•       Land you might want to protect through easements
3. Gather Required Information
Most applications need:
•   Current conservation plan (or willingness to develop one)
•   Maps of your operation (the USDA office can help)
•   Goals about planned practices
•    FSA Farm Number (See below)
To take advantage of federal programs, you will need to have or to obtain a farm number assigned by the Farm Service Agency (FSA). Start this process in the USDA office.
4. Don't Go It Alone
Technical service providers, county conservation districts, and producer support organizations like MFAI can help navigate the application process. A farm neighbor or more experienced grower can also help.
Take Action
Don't let this opportunity pass by. Whether you're exploring conservation programs for the first time or expanding existing practices, now is the time to act.
Ready to apply by January 15?
Contact your local NRCS office today to get started:Â https://www.farmers.gov/working-with-us/service-center-locator
Are you interested in these programs but still have questions?Â
Fill out this interest form, and we will reach back out to you
MFAI stands ready to help farmers across the Upper Midwest understand what these programs mean for their operations, as USDA provides more clarity. We are committed to providing research, education, and policy work to ensure all farmers have the tools and support they need to thrive. While we encourage farmers to work directly with their local NRCS office for technical assistance and application support, MFAI can provide:
•   Educational resources on regenerative practices and conservation planning
•   Policy insights on how these programs are evolving
•    Connections to our network of conservation partners and resources
Michael Fields Agricultural Institute is a nonprofit organization dedicated to developing and promoting regenerative agriculture through research, education, and policy initiatives. We serve farmers across the Upper Midwest with science-based solutions for agricultural challenges. Want to support MORE technical assistance for less-resourced growers? Donate to our ANNUAL APPEAL and fund the future of regenerative agriculture.
MFAI Policy Fellow Dr. Success Okafor is an agricultural economist who received his PhD from North Carolina A&T State University. His work focuses on innovative and controlled-environment agriculture, using GIS, econometrics, and policy analysis to explore opportunities for strengthening soil health, improving market access, and supporting resilient and diversified agricultural systems.
