Precision Conservation Analysis

Precision Conservation Analysis

Do you want to better understand your farm’s best acres as well as the acres that are costing you money?

Do you want to utilize yield data and other spatial information to help improve profitability and sustainability?

Are you interested in exploring profitable management solutions that also provide conservation benefits?

Are you interested in a unique, one-time incentive payment to farm your best acres?

If you answered yes, keep reading to learn more about precision conservation analysis, a data-driven approach to increasing profitability and conservation value on your farm.

What to Expect

You’ll meet with a local precision ag and conservation specialist with our partners at Pheasants Forever. They provide the following services at no cost to farmers and landowners:

  • Farm consultation and technical support: We’ll help analyze your yield data to identify consistently unprofitable acres using your preferred platform. No harvest monitor? No problem; we pull in other supporting datasets like satellite imagery, soils and topography.
  • Developing solutions: We’ll create customized maps detailing different scenarios that improve profitability and create habitat on underperforming acres.
  • Taking conservation action: We’ll help you navigate financial and technical programs offered by federal, state and local organizations to turn those red acres green.

All consultations are private. All farm-specific data will be kept confidential. There is no requirement for public access in order to participate in this program.

Precision Conservation Incentive Payment

Attention Iowa and Minnesota farmers: Get paid to farm your best acres!  

Earn a one-time precision conservation incentive payment on the acres that remain in production when you make a management change following your PACS consultation. This is in addition to the possibility of federal, state and local payments for conservation practices implemented. Payment rate is based on the percent of acres changed:

  • Low alternative adoption (5-9% of the original field): $8.00/ac
  • Medium alternative adoption (10-15% of the original field): $18.00/ac
  • High alternative adoption (>16% of the original field): $26.00/ac

A five-year maintenance agreement is required, during which time grazing, haying and mowing are restricted until after the Primary Nesting Season each year (May 15- Aug. 1). If the changed area is also enrolled in another program, such as CRP, those activities would also be subject to those program rules. The incentive payment is capped at $10,000 per producer. Participants must meet the eligibility criteria for NRCS’s EQIP to receive this incentive. At least 50% of the changed area must be unprofitable to be eligible for the payment.

Contact

Call or email your local PACS with any questions and to get started:

submit a contact form to learn more

PFI’s former habitat viability manager, Brad Woodson, has been using precision conservation analysis data to turn marginal acres into agricultural and conservation opportunities on his farm in Madison County, Iowa. Read about his experience on our blog.