The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is quickly ramping up hiring of new team members to help implement $19.5 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) for conservation programs. For example, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) opened job announcements this week for soil conservationists in Indiana and elsewhere across the country. This batch of job openings is part of a broader effort by USDA’s NRCS to help producers develop conservation plans and implement conservation practices, including critical climate-smart practices.
“The Inflation Reduction Act represents the single largest investment in climate and clean energy solutions in American history, and NRCS’ programs are an important part of the effort,” said David Doctorian, Acting State Conservationist for NRCS in Indiana. “To help agricultural producers invest in conservation on their farms and working forests, we need to ensure we have a team that delivers our conservation programs in Indiana. This next generation of conservation talent will help us build upon our long history of working one-on-one with producers to deliver voluntary conservation to farm fields.”
NRCS soil conservationists offer conservation planning and technical help to agricultural producers, helping them implement practices that sequester carbon, mitigate against dramatic weather events and conserve other natural resources. This assistance helps producers who apply and are funded for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), Agricultural Conservation Easement Program, Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) and others.
Interested candidates can find more information and apply to the vacancies on USAjobs.gov. To see the opportunities in Indiana, visit https://www.usajobs.gov/job/722133800#. The announcements are currently open and close on May 15, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.
To qualify as a GS 5/7/9 soil conservationist, candidates must meet the education requirements, or a combination of education and experience requirements, as outlined in the job announcement.
General qualifications for the soil conservationist job series are also available on OPM.gov. Also, watch NRCS’ recruitment video for soil conservationists or visit our Careers webpage to learn about other jobs with NRCS and other FPAC agencies.
Source : usda.gov