USDA offering $150 million
Agricultural producers who are willing to go the extra mile for conservation have an opportunity to receive financial payments through USDA's largest conservation program —the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). Tracy Robillard, Public Affairs Officer
Administered by USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service, the CSP is offering up to $150 million nationwide this year to farmers, ranchers and private forestland owners who enroll acres into the program.CSP is a voluntary program that encourages producers who have already adopted conservation measures to pursue new or additional conservation activities to reach an even greater level of land stewardship. NRCS awards CSP payments under five-year contracts based on the number of acres enrolled in the program.
"CSP encourages farmers to take their conservation actions to the next level," said NRCS Oregon State Conservationist Ron Alvarado. "Participants earn payments based on conservation performance—the higher the performance, the higher the payment. In Oregon, we are setting aside a portion of CSP dollars to further sage grouse habitat conservation through sustainable rangeland health approaches." In Oregon, NRCS has up to $18.8 million available this year for CSP. NRCS Oregon has allocated up to 355,530 acres for the general CSP sign-up, and an additional 31,850 acres for sign-ups in core sage grouse habitats. The sage grouse sign-up focuses on agricultural operations that want to further reduce risks to sage grouse and improve and enhance sage grouse habitats and landscapes. CSP is available to individual producers, Native American Tribes, and non-profit organizations/entities. CSP contracts last for five years. For more information on applicant and land eligibility, visit the NRCS Oregon CSP webpage.
NRCS accepts applications for CSP throughout the year, but producers should submit applications by March 31 to ensure they are considered for enrollment in 2016. To apply, visit a local USDA Service Center. Participants with existing CSP contracts that will expire on Dec.31, 2016 have the option to renew their contracts for an additional five years if they agree to adopt additional activities to achieve higher levels of conservation. Applications to renew are also due by March 31. A CSP self-screening checklist is available to help producers determine if the program is compatible with their operation. As part of the application process, applicants will work with NRCS field personnel to complete a resource inventory of their land to determine the conservation performance for existing and new conservation activities. The applicant's conservation performance will be used to determine eligibility, ranking and payments.Through CSP, NRCS has provided more than $4 billion nationwide since 2009 in assistance to farmers, ranchers and forest managers to enhance conservation on more than 70 million acres.
