Dan Hovland | Department of Agriculture
The state of Indiana is now accepting applications for the first round of Conservation Stewardship Program funding for fiscal year 2023, which allows agriculture producers and forest land owners to earn payments for their conservation efforts.
According to a Dec. 13 release by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Acting State Conservationist Dan Hovland said the applications are being accepted through Jan. 20, 2023, and it is recommended interested agricultural workers apply.
“CSP enables landowners to take their conservation practices to the next level,” Hovland said in the release. “The better the performance of their conservation practices, the higher the payment they will receive. CSP is truly an opportunity to invest in your land and ensure you are protecting vital natural resources such as soil, air and water for years to come. This funding cycle is an opportunity to join the thousands of producers throughout the country who have already used CSP to positively impact more than 70 million acres nationwide.”
Indiana is now accepting applications for the first round of Conservation Stewardship Program funding for fiscal year 2023.
| Chris Light/Wikipedia Commons
The program is the largest conservation program in the country, the release reported. It works with financial assistance for producers who are “established conservation stewards” and want to add to the benefits on their land in way of conservation This includes things like improved water and soil quality, enhancing the habitat for wildlife on the land and being climate-smart.
The program allows producers and forest landowners to earn money to manage, maintain and expand conservation activities. This includes covering crops, buffer strips, pest management and a beneficial insect habitat, according to the release. It must be done while having agriculture production on the land, as well.
Producers are also encouraged to adopt modern technologies and techniques to be climate conscience, the release reported. Some of these include on-site carbon storage and soil amendments to improve the quality of water.
The CSP is for private working lands such as cropland, pastureland and nonindustrial private forest land, as well as agricultural land that has tribe jurisdiction, according to the release.
Applications that are received after the Jan. 20, 2023, deadline will be automatically considered for the next funding cycle, the release reported.
