Outreach Policy

The guiding principles are:

  1. Encourage farming systems that produce safe, healthful, and diverse food, fiber and wood products. 
  2. Create greater opportunities to connect farmers with consumers. 
  3. Encourage and support an agricultural system that sustains and strengthens rural communities, and cultural diversity. 
  4. Encourage responsible stewardship of natural resources. 
  5. Enable farmers and farm workers to live and work in safe and responsible environments. 
  6. Result in vigorous competition in open, diverse markets. 
  7. Enable Americans to own and operate farms as a livelihood. 
  8. Enhance opportunities for people to generate farm incomes comparable to other economic sectors. 
Youth listen and learn about marketing vegetables produced on a small limited resource farm.

Moses Dupree, (l) a small farmer, is teaches youth about harvesting and marketing vegetables produced on a limited
resource farm.

It is NRCS policy to:

  1. Develop and support financial assistance, technical assistance and outreach programs and initiatives that focus on the special needs of small farms, especially those that enhance stewardship of natural resources and help small farm owners and operators develop alternative enterprises, value-added products, and collaborative marketing efforts. 
  2. Make special efforts to meet the conservation needs of the under-served, including limited resource, minority, and women farmers. 
  3. Consider the special needs of and specific effects on small farms when developing and implementing incentive programs and processes. 
  4. Foster collaboration among public and private sector agencies, programs, and institutions, including farm and community-based organizations, to meet the resource conservation technological needs of small farms, including developing small farms networks, joint enterprises, and mentoring systems. 
  5. Encourage and emphasize land use, and other programs that will help encourage and support new generations of small farm owners and operators. 
  6. Emphasize sustainable agriculture, sustainable forestry, and agro-forestry as profitable, environmentally sound, and socially desirable strategies for small farms.