03/24/06 CSP signing deadline in Idaho

Farmers and ranchers in the Clearwater and Bear River-Malad watersheds only have one week remaining to sign up for the 2006 Conservation Security Program. Jody Fagan of the NRCS says producers have shown a lot of interest in CSP. FAGAN "Oneida County, there's a lot of really great interest there. The Clearwater watershed has some really great conservationists. A lot of no tillers and a lot of people doing great work out there." Fagan says CSP is more on the shoulders of the producers and with them being the top conservationists in the state they should have all their records together and know what kind of conservation practices they're doing. They'll need to document that in the Idaho Conservation Record Book. Only 60 of 110 earmarked watersheds actually got funding for this fiscal year. NRCS Chief Bruce Knight says even if producers aren't eligible for CSP they could still get conservation assistance. KNIGHT "EQIP, our Environmental Quality Incentives Program or CRP, the Conservation Reserve Program are a better fit for your operation or farm or ranch at this point in time and so that's the best part of CSP. It's part of a much larger fabric of conservation programs, tools, and a whole portfolio that we try to offer to farmers and ranchers." Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott