About the Network

Purpose

Process

NRCS Conservation Practices are the administrative mechanism through which conservation funding from NRCS’s largest conservation programs (EQIP, CSP, RCPP, ACEP) flow. To receive funding from these programs, producers must show how they will implement conservation practices per their standards. The content and requirements of these standards are therefore highly influential in how producers implement conservation on the ground. This project was designed to provide a robust scientific grounding for how to implement the standards in a manner that enables them to realize their GHG mitigation potential. When the project began, there were significant funds allocated to NRCS through the Inflation Reduction Act to support adoption of climate-smart agriculture and forestry practices. This created some urgency to ensuring that NRCS Conservation Practice Standard (CPS) specifications and implementation guidance for achieving net GHG emissions reductions through practice adoption was informed by the best available science.

To bolster the scientific grounding for the Conservation Practice Standards (CPS), Meridian Institute convened six technical working groups (TWG) of top scientific experts focused on nutrient management, manure management, enteric methane, soil carbon, agroforestry, and grazing lands. The TWGs first identified agricultural practices that likely have high potential impact to reduce GHG emissions based on raw mitigation potential and adoption considerations. Then, the TWGs conducted literature reviews, first and second-order meta-analyses, and modeling scenarios to identify the circumstances in which there is strong scientific evidence that the agricultural practices identified are likely to have net GHG benefits as well as implementation guidance for maximizing those benefits.

The science and implementation guidance are detailed in twelve reports across the TWGs. The content of these reports was delivered to NRCS in June 2025 in fulfillment of the Contribution Agreement between Meridian Institute and NRCS. Meridian staff and TWG chairs and members worked with the NRCS national discipline leads to scope the reports and refine technical guidance regarding how best to implement practices to achieve GHG mitigation.

Future Work

The Technical Advisory Network for Climate Smart Agricultural Practices was created near the conclusion the project to create a platform for communicating the body of work undertaken through the Meridian/PACT CPS project. It may also serve as a mechanism for continued interaction and collaboration among technical work group members who choose to remain connected . Some TWG members are considering additional research, outreach and publishing to meet the knowledge needs of key interested parties in the agriculture and climate space positioned to drive and support adoption of climate smart agricultural practices (e.g., carbon markets, corporate purchasers/supply chains, state governments). Some are interested in exploring work on resource benefits and ecosystem services from agricultural practices in addition to GHG impacts. The Network may seek to position itself as an independent, objective science review group focused on identifying and filling critical knowledge gaps and supporting efforts to convey that knowledge to key actors in the agriculture and climate/conservation space. Additional conversation is needed to determine the level of interest in continuing work among TWG members and to refine the group’s ongoing purpose and mission.

In May 2024, Meridian Institute assembled six technical working groups (TWGs) to provide up-to-date scientific analysis of the impact of conservation practice adoption on GHG emissions and make technical recommendations to the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), to align conservation practice standards with their findings.

The TWGs were comprised of academic scientists who are well regarded in their chosen field as well as scientists working within nongovernmental organizations focused on one or more of the chosen categories of interest: nutrient management, manure management, enteric methane, soil carbon, agroforestry, and grazing lands.

The TWGs generated more than a dozen reports, which were delivered to NRCS in June 2025, supported in part through a Contribution Agreement between NRCS and Meridian Institute. Results of the project will also be posted to other platforms and some will be published in academic journals and trade publications. The groups have assembled to create a new network to provide a mechanism to carry the work forward: the Technical Advisory Network for Climate Smart Agricultural Practices.

Click here for a list of individuals from each TWG who will serve as a designated public point of contact for that groups’ work.

Technical Working Groups