Introduction
The Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) is a voluntary
conservation program that encourages producers to address resource
concerns in a comprehensive manner by:
- Undertaking additional conservation activities; and
- Improving, maintaining, and managing existing conservation
activities.
CSP is available on Tribal and private agricultural lands and
non-industrial private forest land in all 50 States and the Caribbean
and Pacific Islands Areas. The program provides equitable access to all
producers, regardless of operation size, crops produced, or geographic
location.
Program Description
Through CSP, NRCS will provide financial and technical assistance to
eligible producers to conserve and enhance soil, water, air, and related
natural resources on their land. Eligible lands include cropland,
grassland, prairie land, improved pastureland, rangeland, nonindustrial
private forest lands, agricultural land under the jurisdiction of an
Indian tribe, and other private agricultural land (including cropped
woodland, marshes, and agricultural land used for the production of
livestock) on which resource concerns related to agricultural production
could be addressed. Participation in the program is voluntary.
CSP encourages land stewards to improve their conservation performance
by installing and adopting additional activities, and improving,
maintaining, and managing existing activities on agricultural land and
nonindustrial private forest land. The NRCS will make CSP available
nationwide on a continuous application basis.
The State Conservationist, in consultation with the State Technical
Committee and local work groups, will focus program impacts on natural
resources that are of specific concern for a State, or the specific
geographic areas within a State. Applications will be evaluated relative
to other applications addressing similar priority resource concerns to
facilitate a competitive ranking process among applicants within a State
who face similar resource challenges. Delaware will have one
ranking pool for the entire state for cropland and non-industrial forest
land.
For the map of Delaware's Ranking Pool click
here
Farm Services Agency (FSA) records will be the basis for all farm
records. The entire operation must be enrolled and must include all eligible
land that will be under the applicant's control for the term of the
proposed contract that is operated substantially separate from other
operations. An applicant for CSP must be listed as the farm operator
in FSA records.
CSP offers participants two possible types of payments:
- Annual payment for installing and adopting additional
activities, and improving, maintaining, and managing existing
activities
- Supplemental payment for the adoption of resource-conserving
crop rotations
Organic Certification and CSP
CSP offers a "crosswalk" for those transitioning to Organic Farming
while participating in CSP.
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The Conservation Stewardship Program requires applicants to
establish records with the Farm Service Agency if they do not
have these records established already. Where applicants already
have records established with the Farm Service Agency, they will
need to ensure that these records are updated.
Farm Service Agency records that need to
be established or updated prior to application:
The following documents require
Acrobat Reader.
Average Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) Statement, (PDF
227 KB)
This form should be completed for Fiscal Year 2010
Highly Erodible Land Conservation (HELC) and Wetland
Conservation (WC) Certification, (PDF 100 KB)
Members Information,
For entities
(PDF 227 KB)
CSP State Priority Resource Concerns
With advise from State Technical Committee Members, each
State has selected a list of priority resource concerns that
applicants will either need to agree to address by the end of
the contract period or have already addressed at the time of
application.
Delaware Priority Resource Concerns for 2009
CSP for Both Agricultural Land and Non-Industrial Private
Forestland:
Water Quality
Air Quality
Animals
Plants
Soil Quality
Energy
CSP Resource Conserving Crops
With advise from State Technical Committee Members, each
State has created a list of resource conserving crops that
applicants can incorporate into their cropland acres if they are
eligible for, and elect to adopt the Resource Conserving Crop
Rotation Enhancement.
The following documents require
Acrobat Reader.
Delaware Resource Conserving Crops (PDF 261 KB)
CSP Rules, Notices and Supporting Documents
The following documents
require
Acrobat Reader.
The
CSP Interim Final Rule (PDF, 134KB) Public Comment period is open until September 28, 2009.
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Link to National NRCS Conservation
Stewardship Program website |
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