The next deadline for Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) applications to be considered for funding this year is February 10, 2023. Through CSP, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) helps farmers, ranchers and forest landowners earn payments for expanding conservation activities while maintaining agricultural production on their land. CSP also encourages adoption of new technologies and management techniques.
“CSP continues to be a very effective tool for private landowners working to achieve their conservation and management goals,” said Jamie Keith, Acting State Conservationist for Wisconsin. “It is the largest conservation program in the United States with more than 70 million acres of productive agricultural and forest land enrolled.”
Changes in the 2018 Farm Bill authorize NRCS to accept new CSP enrollments from 2020‒2023 and makes additional improvements to the program. Some highlights include the following:
- NRCS now enrolls eligible, high-ranking applications based on dollars rather than acres.
- Higher payment rates are now available under the 2018 Farm Bill for certain conservation activities, including cover crops and resource conserving crop rotations.
- NRCS now provides specific support for organic and for transitioning to organic, production activities through CSP.
About the Program
CSP is offered in Wisconsin through continuous signups. The program provides many benefits including increased crop yields, decreased inputs, wildlife habitat improvements and increased resilience to weather extremes. CSP is for working lands including cropland, pastureland, rangeland, nonindustrial private forest land and agricultural land under the jurisdiction of a tribe.
Online services are available to customers with an eAuthentication (eAuth) account, which provides access to the farmers.gov portal where producers can view USDA farm loan information and payments and view and track certain USDA program applications and payments. An eAuth account is a way for you to interact with USDA websites online. It gives you the ability to identify yourself to the USDA via your User ID and password. It permits you to access a wide range of USDA applications across the many USDA agencies and their services. Customers who do not already have an eAuth account can enroll at farmers.gov/account.
For additional information about CSP, landowners should contact their local NRCS office at the USDA Service Center for their county.
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