The USDA Farm Bill provides numerous program to support American agriculture. The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Local Working Groups (LWGs) are subcommittees of the NRCS State Technical Committees (STCs) that provide advice about implementation of Farm Bill conservation programs at the local level. Farmers and ranchers are invited to participate both at LWG and the STC levels – the decision about participating on either an STC or a LWG is based on the time commitment, amount of travel required, specific issues addressed, and so forth. Increased participation by farmers and ranchers in Sarasota County on both STCs and LWGs is critical!

To this end, there will be an open meeting to farmers, ranchers and landowners in Sarasota County about participating in their LWG at 6:30 pm on August 17, 2016 in the Ken Clark Building at the Sarasota County Fairgrounds, 3000 Ringling Boulevard, Sarasota. Details and registration can be done on the Education Calendar at http://sarasota.ifas.ufl.edu

An online guide to LWGs and STCs is provided by the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) – see http://sustainableagriculture.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/stc_lwg_guide.pdf

Online guides to the Farm Bill’s programs are also provided by NSAC – see http://sustainableagriculture.net/publications/

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