Agricultural conservation technical assistance has taken on a number of dimensions over its long and continuously evolving history. Congress continues to take interest in conservation technical assistance given its complexities and impact on the distribution of conservation financial assistance to producers. Frequently, technical assistance for agriculture is discussed in the context of omnibus farm legislation (referred to as farm bills), although most technical assistance is discretionary and funded through the annual agricultural appropriations bill rather than mandatory spending authorized in the farm bill. Questions concerning the current and future capacity of the technical assistance system are highlighted by a perceived lack of boundaries and understanding of what technical assistance is and is not. Defining Technical Assistance

In the most general terms, technical assistance is a technical service. It is a basic service that provides conservation knowledge to producers and landowners. ), and a delivery system for assisting landowners and users to conserve and use natural resources. Increasingly, this service is not only provided through the federal government by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), but also by other public and private experts. NRCS is the current federal provider of technical assistance for agriculture conservation. Through this amendment, technical assistance is currently defined by law as: 
"(2) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—
"(A) IN GENERAL.—The term 'technical assistance' means technical expertise, information, and tools necessary for the conservation of natural resources on land active in agricultural, forestry, or related uses. Technical Assistance for Discretionary Programs

Conservation Operations (CO) is the largest discretionary account, and also provides the greatest amount of technical assistance through the Conservation Technical Assistance (CTA) program. Congress, however, continues to fund many of these programs through annual appropriations. Despite the transition of program leadership, some functions continue to be maintained by each agency. Role of Third Party Providers

The 2002 farm bill allowed producers to retain approved third party providers for technical assistance as a way of maintaining and expanding the technical capacity for agricultural conservation programs. Current Issues

Understanding how conservation technical assistance works and is funded addresses only a portion of the misconceptions and questions about this topic. The confusion surrounding two terms— technical assistance and administrative support —is also discussed, as well as the current impact of congressional directives on technical assistance and the Administration's technical assistance streamlining initiative. Much of the debate surrounding technical assistance has shifted to defining the different aspects of administrative support and who (meaning which agency within USDA) should be providing the support. Multiple factors contribute to the capacity to provide technical assistance: human capital, technology, mission goals, and funding. How will this effort improve the delivery of conservation programs? Technical assistance has expanded in both scope and funding recently, and has been brought to the forefront of the debate for both implementation and funding levels. Technical assistance has fluctuated between addressing a limited number of resources and most or all natural resources on agricultural lands. Along with this additional increase in responsibility and an expanding list of natural resource concerns came a significant increase in funding authority.
Agricultural conservation technical assistance has taken on a number of dimensions over its long and continuously evolving history. In the most general terms, technical assistance is a service assisting landowners and agricultural producers in conserving natural resources. Addressing natural resource concerns across different landscapes frequently requires multiple disciplines working together to provide a collective pool of conservation knowledge. The current federal framework for applying this conservation knowledge lies with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Several agencies within USDA support conservation technical assistance, however, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is the federal lead.
NRCS provides conservation technical assistance to producers through various programs using field staff located across the country. Some level of technical assistance is required for participation in all of USDA's conservation programs; however, there is no single overarching description of technical assistance for all programs. Similarly, there is no single method of providing technical assistance. The full scope of technical assistance is best understood by examining how it operates within each conservation program. Some see the lack of technical assistance as the foremost barrier to adoption of conservation practices and enrollment in federal conservation programs.
While most technical assistance work is funded through annually appropriated programs, an increasing amount is funded through mandatory programs authorized through omnibus, multi-year, farm bills. The seemingly complex manner in which USDA implements and pays for technical assistance through its conservation programs has created general confusion on the subject. Congress continues to take interest in conservation technical assistance given its complexities and impact on the distribution of conservation financial assistance to producers.
Technical assistance has been discussed extensively at congressional hearings on agriculture conservation. Producers, ranchers, environmentalists, and wildlife advocates continue to raise the issue of technical assistance and the need or desire for additional support. The question of which federal agency should be involved with administering technical assistance and how this relates to the administration of conservation programs continues to be of interest. The expanding use of non-federal, third party providers of technical assistance is also of interest, especially when addressing the demand for additional capacity without an expansion of the federal workforce. A broader perspective on technical assistance raises questions about the capacity of the current technical assistance structure as well as future limitations.
Historically, technical assistance has evolved in the range of topics addressed; it currently addresses a wide variety of natural resource concerns. Recent farm bills have repeatedly added natural resource concerns to the conservation mission, leaving many to question whether the current technical assistance delivery system has retained the capacity to function effectively. Demands on available capital (both human and financial), combined with additional questions for technological capacity and an ever-expanding list of natural resource concerns, have generated an ongoing discussion in the current congressional debate.