National Association of Conservation Districts

Computers for Districts

Computer workstations identical to those purchased under the USDA contract are available to conservation districts and RC&D Councils direct from the current USDA contractor, Government Acquisitions, Inc. A new district computer purchased through the USDA contractor may be made CCE compatible and connected to the USDA network without cost to the district.

2010 Computers and Peripherals for Districts (April 2010)
USDA recently signed new contracts for computers, monitors, printers, plotters, scanners, and ruggedized portable hard drives for acquisition and use by the Field Service Center Agencies (FSA, NRCS and RD) and other USDA agencies. Conservation districts are eligible to buy from these vendors without regard to connection to the USDA Network.

The new USDA contracts are robust and will be updated quite frequently.  Because of these changes and updates, conservation districts who are interested in ordering should contact Steve Webber or Jon Hayward, NRCS, who will provide you the latest pricing and ordering information.  They can be reached at:

When contacting Steve or Jon, please let them know whether or not you are going to be connected to the USDA Network.

March 2008 Conservation Partnership Computer Memo
Members of the conservation partnership released a joint memo and list of frequently asked questions in March 2008 regarding computer related issues for the conservation partnership. Click here to read a copy of the memo, or see the Frequently Asked Questions page for the most up-to-date information.

Frequently Asked Questions (updated March 24, 2009)

Conservation District/NRCS Operational Highlights (March 2009)

CCE Computing Environment

Districts with computers on the Common Computing Environment receive the following benefits free of charge:

• Access to most USDA developed or licensed software, including Microsoft Office programs, GIS software, Toolkit, engineering, conservation planning and reporting software;
• Automatic updates and upgrades to programs and anti-virus software;
• Daily backups;
• Access to USDA-developed AgLearn courses (over 2,500 new online SkillSoft courses: IT End User Skills include courses in Microsoft, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access and more while Business Skills curricula include Project Management, Leadership, Time Management, Communication and more);
• Access to the USDA help desk and USDA ITS staff for resolving hardware and software problems; and
• Access to a high speed Internet connection.

Please contact your USDA ITS computer specialist with questions.

Specifications for computers purchased in previous years are available at http://www.sci.usda.gov/cce/desktop_mid.html.

Most districts that are not co-located with a USDA service center can have their compatible computers joined to the CCE network and utilize the benefits listed above using a VPN encrypted connection through a cable modem, DSL or other high speed Internet connection. Requests for use of a VPN connection is handled by your NRCS state office.