In his testimony before the Senate Committee, Cosby said that NRCS is looking to make it a bit easier for farm advisers to get certified as technical service providers with the agency. He said the agency was trying to increase the number of available TSPs by revising the qualifications.
After the hearing, Cosby told Agri-Pulse the agency was looking at allowing some technical experience to substitute for the existing educational requirements. “We're going to be working through that,” he said.
TSPs can get reimbursed for advising farmers on conservation practices.
USDA is ramping up conservation spending to get farmers to adopt climate-smart farming practices.