Contacts:
Anita Brown (530) 792-5644
Alan Forkey (530) 792-5653

DAVIS, Calif., August 10, 2009—A new program is available to California agricultural and forestry producers offering financial incentives to adopt additional conservation activities on their land. The Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) is a voluntary program that encourages producers to maintain existing conservation activities and add new ones.

"This program is for those willing to do additional conservation activities over and above their current stewardship levels," says Gayle Norman, NRCS Acting State Conservationist in California.

The program was authorized by Congress in the 2008 Farm Bill and will be available through 2017. It replaces the former Conservation Security Program, which Congress renamed and completely revamped to improve its availability and appeal to producers. It is being administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

Producers interested in applying are encouraged to review program details online at www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/new_csp/csp.html before making an appointment with their local NRCS field office. Applications must be submitted by September 30 to be considered for funding in the first ranking period.

Eligible lands include cropland, grassland, improved pastureland, rangeland, non-industrial private forestland, and agricultural land under jurisdiction of an Indian tribe. Eligible applicants include individual landowners, Indian tribes, and legal entities.

"The program will reward producers who manage their operations to prevent soil erosion, prevent water contamination, and manage dust from roads," adds Norman.

Producers doing a variety of other practices can also profit from the program. Such practices include controlling wind erosion, conserving energy, using high efficiency pumps, growing high residue-producing crops, using minimum tillage, growing cover crops, installing buffers to prevent runoff from going directly into lakes and streams, managing non-cropped areas for wildlife, providing food plots and flooding fields for wildlife, avoiding nesting periods when mowing hay, using integrated pest management, applying fertilizer according to soil and tissue tests, following a nutrient management plan, and following a grazing management system that maintains soil and water quality and provides adequate forage to meet livestock demands.

To apply, participants are encouraged to use a self-screening checklist first to determine whether the program is suitable for them. It is available at NRCS field offices and on the Internet at www.nrcs.usda.gov/new_csp/csp.html. After self-screening, the producer’s current and proposed conservation practices are entered into a computerized conservation measurement tool to estimate the level of environmental benefits that will be achieved. The performance estimate will be used to rank applications.

Payments will be made for installing and adopting additional conservation activities; improving and maintaining conservation activities in place at the time the contract offer is accepted; adopting resource-conserving crop rotations to achieve beneficial crop rotations; engaging in activities related to on-farm conservation research and demonstration activities; and pilot testing of new technologies or innovative conservation practices.

CSP payment rates will be based on a combination of points determined by the producer’s current and planned conservation enhancements. Final payment rates for the 2009 CSP sign-up have not yet been established. The estimated range for annual payments is: $12 to $22 an acre for cropland; $6 to $12 per acre for non-industrial private forestland; $7 to $14 per acre for pastureland; and $5 to $10 per acre for rangeland. The estimated range for supplemental payments for resource-conservation crop rotation is $12 to $16 per acre. Payments are based on cost of stewardship/conservation activities, forgone income, and environmental benefits achieved. To receive the high-end of payments participants will need to commit to do several additional activities.

NRCS staff will conduct on-site field verifications of applicant information. Once the participant has been field verified and approved for funding, he or she must develop a conservation stewardship plan and commit to implementing the plan.

Contracts will cover the entire agricultural operation and be for five years. Payments to an individual or legal entity may not exceed $40,000 per year and $200,000 in a five-year period.

For information about CSP, producers can visit www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/new_csp/csp.html or contact their local NRCS field office.

-NRCS-

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