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Urban Agriculture

Maine Urban Agriculture

EQIP

Maine’s urban agriculture pioneers are taking action in their communities, growing not just produce, but also providing jobs, beautifying their neighborhoods, and offering access to fresh, healthy food in areas where grocery stores are sparse.

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The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Maine supports urban agriculture by providing technical and financial assistance to protect and conserve natural resources. These resources include soil, water, air, plants, animals, and energy.

Conservation Practices

High Tunnels
Natural Resource Conservation Service Chief Terry Cosby visited a property in St. Louis, Mo. that has received Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) funds for a high tunnel operation. The owner, Mitch Pearson, has also submitted an application for the St. Louis Urban Hub under the EQIP ACT NOW funding opportunity to perform forest management on his property. USDA photo by Josh Colligan, 3/23/2023

High Tunnels extend the growing season and protect plants from harsh weather, air pollution and pests. By making local produce available for more months in the year, fewer resources are used to transport food.

Soil Health
Soybeans Planted into Winter Wheat Stubble File Type jpg | Picture Size 2550 x 1913 Biological activity helps winter wheat residue decompose to become precious organic matter that helps plants grow. Years of managing soil for residue and to improve its quality allowed organic matter to build up making the darker color near the surface. A no-till field since 1990, this field has excellent organic matter under a corn-corn-broadleaf-wheat-broadleaf rotation for the last 10 years. 2011 was winter wheat

NRCS-ME provides free soil testing for community gardens. These tests can assess if your garden soil is performing optimally from physical, chemical and biological perspectives, ensuring the quality and quantity of your produce as well as the health of the local environment.

Managing Weeds & Pests
A student volunteer works to clear weeds and plant beds in the People’s Garden at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C. on August 4, 2022. The People’s Garden is growing plants in a variety of ways, from small containers to wheelchair accessible raised beds. In early spring, cool weather crops like peas, kale, collards, radishes, cilantro, parsley, carrots, lettuces, beets, chard and spinach are planted, followed by warm weather crops like beans, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, squash, and

NRCS can help with pest management practices – advising on crop rotations and various types of mulches to reduce weeds and manage insects that harm crops. 

Irrigation & Water Management
In irrigation pivot on a field in Burley, Idaho with wind turbines in the background. Near W 500 S and S 400 W streets. 10/8/2018 Photo by Kirsten Strough

NRCS develops irrigation water management plans to assist urban farmers such as rainwater catchment, automated pumps, pipelines and water-efficient drip irrigation systems to help reduce water use, soil erosion and maximize yields.

Low Tunnels
Purple Skies Farm Owner Visar Duane grows flowers, both for her customers and pollinators. (NRCS photo by Brooke DeCubellis)

Adding low tunnels can reduce pest pressure, extend the growing season, and protect sensitive crops from excessive sun, wind, rain, or cold. With minimal infrastructure, this can be a great alternative or addition to a high tunnel.

Raised Garden Beds
Blossom and German Extra Hardy garlic are some of the garlic varieties in this raised bed garden, equipped with drip watering system at the People's Garden at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Washington D.C., on Thursday, March 17, 2011. Volunteers pitch in several times a week, to weed, mulch, plant, water and what ever it takes to grow a wide variety of produce. Although a few are ornamental, most are destined for charity kitchens. Located on the corner of Jefferson Drive, SW and 12th St. SW, p

Our urban soils may bear lead and heavy metal contamination as a result of past building practices and industrial use. NRCS can cost-share the practice of raised bed construction on land suspected of contamination.

Compost Facility
City Roots LLC is a family-owned local organic vegetable farm in Columbia, S.C, on August 10, 2022. The farm uses environmentally-friendly farming practices, including composting and offsetting its carbon footprint with three photovoltaic solar panel arrays. The U.S. Department of Agriculture USDA Rural Development RD helped them toward their energy goals with a Rural Energy for America Program REAP Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Loans and Grants Program grant of $20,000.00 toward a $99,060.00 31.

Composting facilities transform organic waste into a soil amendment that improves soil health, provides slow-release plant-available nutrients, and suppresses plant disease. NRCS now can cost share for small-scale composting facilities.

Pollinator Habitat
A Monarch butterfly visits the Zinnias on Goldpetal Farms in Chaptico, Md., July 17, 2021. USDA/FPAC Photo by Preston Keres

Pollinator habitat has multiple benefits to the conservation of natural resources. Along with wildlife value, the native plants used to create pollinator habitat can help stabilize the soil, improve water quality, sequester carbon, improve landscape aesthetics, and in some instances can be a source of value-added products for the farm.

Additional Documents

Maine Conservation Choices Urban Small Farm (10.57 MB)
NRCS EQIP Urban Myth Busters Fact Sheet (10.78 MB)

For additional information contact NRCS-Maine Urban Agriculture Professional Carrick Gambell, carrick.gambell@usda.gov

Additional Information

Apply for Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)

The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) provides financial and technical assistance to agricultural producers and non-industrial forest managers.

Learn More

Historically Underserved Farmers and Ranchers

The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 Farm Bill) includes provisions that address the unique circumstances and concerns of socially disadvantaged, beginning, limited resource, and veteran farmers and ranchers (“historically underserved producers”).

Learn More

Farm Bill

The 2018 Farm Bill was enacted on December 20, 2018. The Farm Bill continues its strong support for conservation efforts of America’s farmers and ranchers through reauthorization and expanded flexibility of NRCS conservation programs. 

Learn More

Ready to get started?

Contact your local service center to start your application.

Find Your Local Service Center

USDA Service Centers are locations where you can connect with Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service, or Rural Development employees for your business needs. Enter your state and county below to find your local service center and agency offices. If this locator does not work in your browser, please visit offices.usda.gov.

How to Get Assistance

Do you farm or ranch and want to make improvements to the land that you own or lease?

Natural Resources Conservation Service offers technical and financial assistance to help farmers, ranchers and forest landowners.

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how to get started

To get started with NRCS, we recommend you stop by your local NRCS field office. We’ll discuss your vision for your land.

NRCS provides landowners with free technical assistance, or advice, for their land. Common technical assistance includes: resource assessment, practice design and resource monitoring. Your conservation planner will help you determine if financial assistance is right for you.

We’ll walk you through the application process. To get started on applying for financial assistance, we’ll work with you:

  • To fill out an AD 1026, which ensures a conservation plan is in place before lands with highly erodible soils are farmed. It also ensures that identified wetland areas are protected.
  • To meet other eligibility certifications.

Once complete, we’ll work with you on the application, or CPA 1200.

Applications for most programs are accepted on a continuous basis, but they’re considered for funding in different ranking periods. Be sure to ask your local NRCS district conservationist about the deadline for the ranking period to ensure you turn in your application in time.

As part of the application process, we’ll check to see if you are eligible. To do this, you’ll need to bring:

  • An official tax ID (Social Security number or an employer ID)
  • A property deed or lease agreement to show you have control of the property; and
  • A farm number.

If you don’t have a farm number, you can get one from USDA’s Farm Service Agency. Typically, the local FSA office is located in the same building as the local NRCS office. You only need a farm number if you’re interested in financial assistance.

NRCS will take a look at the applications and rank them according to local resource concerns, the amount of conservation benefits the work will provide and the needs of applicants. View Application Ranking Dates by State.

If you’re selected, you can choose whether to sign the contract for the work to be done.

Once you sign the contract, you’ll be provided standards and specifications for completing the practice or practices, and then you will have a specified amount of time to implement. Once the work is implemented and inspected, you’ll be paid the rate of compensation for the work if it meets NRCS standards and specifications.