Dover, DE,
March 25, 2008—USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) State
Conservationist Russell Morgan today announced the 2008 Conservation
Security Program (CSP) sign-up will be held April 18 to May 16, 2008.
CSP offers financial incentives to agricultural producers who are
practicing high standards of conservation on their operations as they
address natural resource concerns.
CSP will be available to 330
potentially eligible farms in the northern portion of the Broadkill
Smyrna Watershed, which includes parts of New Castle and Kent counties.
To meet basic eligibility
requirements, producers must have addressed soil and water quality concerns
on part of their operation. However, applicants who practice conservation
on their entire operation and/or who provide wildlife habitat and additional
environmental protections can qualify at a higher level.
“We believe in what
Delaware’s farmers can accomplish and believe that CSP is a worthwhile
investment for conserving and enhancing our natural resources,” said Morgan.
“CSP provides producers with financial incentives to move to the next level
of natural resource conservation. The more conservation enhancements
applied to the land, the bigger the incentive.”
Since CSP was introduced in
Delaware in 2005, four watersheds have been eligible. Delaware producers
have signed 73 CSP contracts, generating more than $4 million into Delaware
for maintaining high levels of conservation management on 41, 200 acres of
private agricultural land. To
assess their current levels of conservation relative to program requirement,
producers should review the CSP self-assessment available at
http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/csp
or in hard
copy at USDA Service Centers. A map of the eligible CSP watershed is also
available online. To be eligible for CSP in Delaware, more than 50 percent
of a producer's agricultural operation must fall within the boundaries of
this watershed.
NRCS will hold CSP workshops
in the near future to assist with the self-assessment and application
process. Once available, the meeting dates, times and locations will be
posted to the Delaware NRCS website,
www.de.nrcs.usda.gov.
For additional information on CSP, contact your local NRCS office: in New
Castle, call 302-832-3100 ext. 3; in Kent County, call 302-741-2600, ext. 3.
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