The USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service has announced that they will be accepting applications for the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) until June 25 for those applicants that would like to be considered in the current ranking and evaluation period.
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Applications for CSP are accepted continuously throughout the year with periodic ranking and evaluation periods. This will be the second and final evaluation period conducted for program year 2010.
The Conservation Stewardship Program is a new program that was developed in the 2008 farm bill. CSP is a voluntary conservation program that rewards farmers and ranchers for conservation that has been applied to the land in the past and encourages producers to apply additional conservation practices.
Cropland, pastureland, and forestland are eligible land uses under this program. CSP evaluates all aspects of a producer’s operation. To meet basic eligibility requirements, a producer must be considered the operator of the land that he or she wishes to enroll into the program and the operation must meet an existing threshold level for one conservation resource concern.
In addition, they must agree to apply one additional conservation practice during the contract period on at least a portion of the contract acres. The resource concerns that have been targeted for treatment in our region include soil erosion, soil quality, water quality, plants, and animals. CSP contracts will receive five annual payments based off of the amount of points received during the application ranking period.
All farm operators are encouraged to apply for CSP and take advantage of its benefits. If you have questions about CSP, feel free to contact the Daviess County NRCS office. We would be happy to review your operation to see if CSP or other available programs may work for you.