NRCS Practice Standard

Overall Summary

NRCS Conservation Practice Standards contain information on why and where practices are applied, and they set forth the minimum planning criteria that must be met during the implementation of a practice in order for it to achieve its intended purpose(s).

The national conservation practice standards should not be used to plan, design, or install a conservation practice. You must have the conservation practice standard adapted and modified by the state in which you are working to insure that you meet all state and local criteria, which may be more restrictive than national criteria.

State conservation practice standards are available through the NRCS Field Office Technical Guide (FOTG). If no state conservation practice standard is available in the FOTG, you should contact the appropriate NRCS State Office or your local USDA Service Center.

Updated or new national conservation practice standards are released with NRCS National Handbook of Conservation Practices (NHCP) notices.