The Soil and Water Conservation Act (RCA) is a 1977 law (P.L. 95-192) that requires the
United States Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an executive department of the United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commercial farming and livestock food production, promotes agricultural trade and producti ...
(USDA) to periodically prepare a national plan for
soil
Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by re ...
and
water conservation
Water conservation aims to sustainably manage the natural resource of fresh water, protect the hydrosphere, and meet current and future human demand. Water conservation makes it possible to avoid water scarcity. It covers all the policies, strateg ...
on private lands based on an inventory and appraisal of existing resource conditions and trends.
Natural Resources Conservation Service
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), formerly known as the Soil Conservation Service (SCS), is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that provides technical assistance to farmers and other private landowners and ...
(NRCS) is the lead agency in this effort, and completed appraisals in the early 1980s and late 1980s; a third appraisal was initiated in the early 1990s but was not completed. Only one national plan was adopted by USDA in 1982. Many of the activities envisioned when the RCA was enacted are being carried out, but it has not resulted in a single omnibus plan addressing
conservation needs and priorities on private lands yet.
*{{CRS, article = Report for Congress: Agriculture: A Glossary of Terms, Programs, and Laws, 2005 Edition, url = http://ncseonline.org/nle/crsreports/05jun/97-905.pdf, author= Jasper Womach
United States federal agriculture legislation