Farmers and ranchers who want to get into the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) this year now have until June 25, 2010, to file their basic application.

The Conservation Stewardship Program is a voluntary stewardship incentives program administered by USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). It rewards farmers, ranchers and forestry producers to maintain existing conservation measures and to adopt additional conservation that provides environmental benefits beyond the farm or ranch. This program pays producers for clean water, better soil management, improved habitat, energy efficiency and other natural resource benefits.

Cropland, grassland, prairie, improved pastureland, rangeland, non-industrial private forestland, and agricultural land under the jurisdiction of an Indian tribe are all eligible for CSP enrollment. Congress capped the annual acreage enrollment at roughly 13 million acres each year nationwide.

After filing the simple application form, farmers and ranchers will also need to schedule an appointment to complete the CSP Conservation Management Tool (CMT), a set of questions about the amount of conservation on the land and the conservation improvement plans. After all applicants who file the short application form by June 11 have completed the CMT, NRCS will rank the proposals to determine the best offers for enrollment during this 2010 sign up.

If you are deemed an approved applicant, NRCS will then conduct an on-site field verification to ensure the conservation activity and production information you provided is accurate. Upon verification, applicants will work with NRCS field staff to develop the conservation stewardship plan and contract.

For more information on the Conservation Stewardship Program, call our Farm Bill Helpline at 402.687.2100.