The USDA will open a three-month enrollment period on Nov. 14 for the Conservation Stewardship Program, which pays farmers and ranchers for making soil, water and wildlife conservation a part of their daily operations. A small-farm group says producers should submit an initial application if they’re interested in the program, but it says USDA has yet to fully describe its changes to CSP.
The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition says information on payment rates, conservation practices and the eligibility process have not been released in full. “The new version of the program appears to back away from the previous practice of awarding ranking points and payments based on the expected conservation benefits of activities in a farmer’s CSP plan,” said the coalition. If that is USDA’s intention, “it will represent a major missed opportunity by USDA to continue and enhance the role of CSP as a performance and results-based program.”
In announcing signup will run through Feb. 3, the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service said it updated CSP so farmers can assess their options in the program. “New methods and software for evaluating applications will help producers see up front why they are or are not meeting stewardship thresholds, and allow them to pick practices and enhancements that work for their conservation objectives,” said NRCS.
Some 70 million acres are enrolled in CSP. More than 20 million acres will be enrolled or renewed in 2017, lifting total enrollment above 80 million acres, said NSAC.
The new USDA portal for CSP is available here.