Resource Management Planning

The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture Foundation

Producers' Guide to Resource Management Planning

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To assist you in your resource management planning, the worksheets are also offered in additional formats. Appendices B and C in their entirety are available in MS Word 6.0 files. The individual worksheets have been converted into HTML programming language which can be edited using Corel WordPerfect 7; MS Word 97; Netscape Navigator 3.0 Gold; or Netscape Communicator, beta version . If you need assistance using any of these programs, please contact NASDA's Webmaster . These worksheets are samples of materials in a Midwest community. These samples are provided for format models. The content of the worksheets can be used as starting points for producers, service providers, and others to define their unique areas of concern and the appropriate questions and criteria.

If you would like the NASDA Research Foundation to send the entire document to you, please send your name and address to nasda@patriot.net. There will a charge of $9.95 for shipping and handling.

Introduction to the Resource Management Planning Process

Introduction to the Planning Process
This concept outline is written to help you develop or update your resource management plan. You may already have a resource management plan. The degree of quality, age, and service provided by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) or others determine its usefulness to you. You, like many producers, may already be a good, practicing conservationist; consequently, you may be content scanning the high points that will help you improve your plan. By using this process, you may see greater profit over the long term. Initially, you may find that your costs are greater, but the return on your investment should pay out over time. Local, state, and federal incentive programs exist to help defray some of those costs. A well-developed resource management plan will help you qualify to use those programs.

Why Should I Plan?
Resource management planning is a time-tested process farmers and ranchers have used for many years, frequently with the assistance of NRCS, formerly the Soil Conservation Service. Time has validated the basic principles of planning; underlying technologies have improved the abilities of farmers and ranchers, like you, to make complex evaluations and decisions.

What Does the Resource Management Plan Cover?
The resource management plan contains the decisions made by you for managing your natural resources. It is a record of the conservation practices and systems you use or will use. It may contain other useful information that helps you make your decisions: soil maps, economic analyses, farm program summaries, practice designs, and other decision support tools. Often, the resource management plan may be a component of your overall business plan or operational plan for the farm or ranch.

Who is the Decision-Maker?
Decision-making is your responsibility. You can, and probably should, solicit advice from many sources. You are the sole decision-maker for your plan. Your decision-making can be constrained by farm program requirements and laws at the local, state, or federal levels. Some utility providers, for example, retain easements on property, limiting the kinds of farming or construction permitted. Some nongovernmental programs, such as a bank's farm loan, constrain decisions. Service providers need to be aware of such constraints or restrictions. Many service providers can guide you through the maze of laws and regulations. Because it is your responsibility to make decisions, you should base them upon the best information available.

While government agencies are often service providers, they may also provide financial incentives (cost share), farm program benefits (subsidies and loans), or regulatory controls. Service providers should be knowledgeable about resource conditions. They may also be aware of local resources, priorities, concerns, and regulations. This can help you in the planning process since you are the decision-maker. It will be to your advantage to become involved in
setting local priorities.

Who Can Help You Plan?
Most farmers and ranchers frequently use vendors, consultants, NRCS, Extension Service, conservation district employees, other local, state, and federal agencies and others as sources of information or on-site assistance. Such information can be highly technical or pertain to laws and program requirements. Farmers and ranchers have used multiple information sources for many years; this planning approach seeks to reduce the chances of conflicting goals and recommendations from multiple sources. This guide emphasizes the flexibility in planning service providers to include NRCS and others.

Who Sees My Plan?
One benefit to you in preparing your own resource management plans is that the information remains confidential. When natural resource information resides in your files or computer, access by other parties is up to you. At the present time, if you share portions of your plan with a government agency, confidentiality may not be guaranteed. You may want to consult with the government agency and obtain their written policies on the confidentiality of resource management plans.

These documents and the information contained therein were developed under a cooperative agreement between the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) Research Foundation and the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS). NASDA, the NASDA Research Foundation, or NRCS is not responsible for the content of the documents if they have been altered or changed by any unauthorized person in any unauthorized manner.

Executive Summary and Recommendations to NRCS
Overview of the Resource Management Planning Process

Appendix A: Producers' Guide to Resource Management Planning.
An introduction to the Resource Management Planning Process.

Appendix B: Farmstead Assessments

Appendix B in MS Word 6.0 format

Sample Resource Assessment Worksheets. (All worksheets and introductory material)
Individual worksheets:

Farmstead Worksheet #1—Assessing the Risk of Groundwater Contamination from Drinking Water Well Condition

HTML format

Farmstead Worksheet #2—Assessing the Risk of Groundwater Contamination from Pesticide Storage and Handling

HTML format

Farmstead Worksheet #3—Assessing the Risk of Groundwater Contamination from Fertilizer Storage and Handling

HTML format

Farmstead Worksheet #4—Assessing the Risk of Groundwater Contamination from Petroleum Product Storage

HTML format

Farmstead Worksheet #5—Assessing the Risk of Groundwater Contamination from Hazardous Waste Management

HTML format

Farmstead Worksheet #6—Assessing the Risk of Groundwater Contamination from Household Wastewater Treatment

HTML format

Farmstead Worksheet #7—Assessing the Risk of Groundwater Contamination from Livestock Waste Storage

HTML format

Appendix C: Farm/Ranch Assessments

Appendix C in MS Word 6.0 format

Sample Resource Assessment Worksheets (All worksheets and introductory material)
Individual worksheets:

Cropland Farm/Ranch Assessment Worksheet

HTML format

Pastureland and Rangeland Farm/Ranch Assessment Worksheet

HTML format

Woodland Farm/Ranch Assessment Worksheet

HTML format

Wetlands Farm/Ranch Assessment Worksheet

HTML format

Other Stewardship Concerns Farm/Ranch Assessment Worksheet

HTML format

Appendix D: Summary of the Materials Development Teams' Process

Appendix E: Glossary for Resource Management Planning

Appendix F: Materials Development Team, Client Review Team

Appendix G: Farmer, Rancher, Agricultural Consultant/Advisor Forums
Executive Summaries: Round 1 (December 1995) and Round 2 (July 1996)

�1996 The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture
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