Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) Sign Up Begins

Missouri farmers and ranchers may begin applying for benefits under the new Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) announced.

Dwaine Gelnar, acting state conservationist, says that while the program is available on a continuous basis, the first cutoff for ranking purposes is September 30. He encourages farmers who think they are eligible for CSP benefits to begin the application process.

CSP is a voluntary conservation program designed to encourage agricultural and forestry producers to adopt additional conservation practices and improve, maintain and manage existing ones. It replaces the Conservation Security Program (also called CSP) which was previously available on a watershed basis.

“The CSP changed dramatically in the 2008 Farm Bill,” Gelnar says. “The new program should appeal to our diverse customers, and offer them an equal chance to participate. I hope that agricultural and forestry producers in Missouri take full advantage of its benefits.”

To apply for CSP, individual producers, legal entities and Indian tribes are asked to use a self-screening checklist to determine whether the program is suitable for them or their operations. The checklist is available online and at NRCS field offices.

After the self-screening, producers’ current and proposed conservation activities will be ranked by NRCS, which also will conduct on-site field verifications.

Individual producers, legal entities and Indian tribes must meet several requirements to obtain a CSP contract: they must be listed as the operator in the USDA farm records management system for the operation being offered for enrollment; they must document that they control the land for the term of the contract and include all eligible land in their entire operation in that contract; they must comply with highly erodible land and wetland conservation provisions; and they must comply with Adjusted Gross Income provisions.

Eligible lands include cropland, grassland, prairie, improved pastureland, rangeland, and non-industrial private forestland. Land enrolled in the Conservation Security Program, Conservation Reserve Program, Grasslands Reserve Program and Wetlands Reserve Program are not eligible for the Conservation Stewardship Program. However, all contracts under the old CSP will be honored.

For more information about CSP, visit click here or contact your local NRCS office. Local office contact information is available here. Local offices also are listed in telephone directories under “U.S. Government, Department of Agriculture.”

CSP in Missouri

National CSP Information

Missouri NRCS Programs

Missouri News Releases

< Back to Programs