Por Traci Bruckner, ex miembro del personal
USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) announced this year’s deadline for producer applications for the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) is March 31.
El 31 de marzo es también la fecha límite para que los agricultores con contratos vigentes entre 2012 y 2016 presenten sus solicitudes iniciales si desean renovarlos por otros cinco años. Unos 12 millones de acres que ya participan en el programa pueden renovarse este año.
CSP is a continuous sign-up program, and producers can apply to enroll at any time of the year. NRCS applies a cut-off date for applications to be considered during a particular fiscal year. Once the cut-off date is past, producers may continue to apply, but they will not be considered for entry until the spring of the following year. To enroll in 2016, you must file your application by March 31.
El Programa de Administración de la Conservación es un programa voluntario de incentivos para la gestión responsable administrado por el NRCS. Recompensa a los agricultores, ganaderos y silvicultores por mantener las medidas de conservación existentes y por adoptar medidas adicionales que van más allá de la explotación agrícola o ganadera.
El programa CSP remunera a los productores por el agua limpia, una mejor gestión del suelo, la mejora del hábitat, la eficiencia energética y otros beneficios relacionados con los recursos naturales. Desde que se puso en marcha en 2009, casi 70 millones de acres de tierras agrícolas y ganaderas se han inscrito en el programa.
To sign up, farmers and ranchers should visit their NRCS local service center and submit your basic application form by the March 31 deadline. You can find your local service center here.
Once a farmer or rancher’s initial application is accepted by NRCS, they are then scored based on current and planned future conservation activities. If applicants meet acceptable conservation levels, they become eligible to compete in a ranking process that determines who will receive contracts. NRCS works down through the list of eligible applicants until acreage allocated to the particular state for that particular year runs out.
Los contratos de 2012 están sujetos a renovación.
El 31 de marzo es también la fecha límite para que los titulares de contratos CSP inscritos en 2012 renueven sus contratos. Los contratos CSP tienen una duración de cinco años y pueden renovarse por otros cinco años, lo que permite ampliar y consolidar sus esfuerzos de conservación previos y su nivel actual de gestión ambiental.
Los contratos CSP vigentes, firmados en 2012, vencerán a finales de este año si no se renuevan antes del 31 de marzo. Los productores deben actuar ahora para garantizar una transición sin contratiempos a otro contrato de cinco años y evitar cualquier interrupción en los pagos.
Aproximadamente 12 millones de acres y 8,000 contratos deben renovarse este año. Click here to see the number of contracts and acres set to expire in each state. The map below shows the total number of acres that were originally enrolled in 2012, which are set to expire at the end of the year if not renewed before March 31.
In 2014 and 2015, approximately 75% of expiring CSP acres were renewed in the program, and we join our colleagues at the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) in hoping to see renewal rates that meet or exceed the first two re-enrollment periods.
Producers should be receiving a letter from their oficina local del NRCS very soon about the opportunity to renew your contract for another five-year period. Renewal applications must also be received by March 31 to ensure a seamless transition into their next contract without a lapse in payments.
Mejoras del programa
We are pleased to report that two key improvements we have been advocating for along with the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition will be part of the program moving forward. These include more funding and a higher and expanded application of the minimum payment for small acreage farms and ranches.
NRCS will be able to enroll nearly all 10 million acres as authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill, which is 2.3 million more acres than last year’s sign-up due to the annual appropriations not placing any funding limits on the CSP. This will help ensure NRCS can better meet program demands and enroll more farmers. In Nebraska, for example, in 2015 NRCS was only able to enroll 30% of eligible program applicants.
The increase in the minimum payment to improve access for small acreage farms and ranches will be set at $1,500. Previously, this minimum payment was set at $1,000 and was only available to beginning and socially disadvantage farmers and ranchers. This change opens up the minimum payment level to all participating small acreage farms and ranches.
Más Recursos
Para obtener más información sobre el programa, consulte la Alerta informativa de CSP para la inscripción de 2016 Información específica de nuestros socios de la coalición en la Coalición Nacional de Agricultura Sostenible. También han publicado una guía de programa detallada llamada Guía para agricultores sobre el Programa de Gestión de la Conservación.
