Changes come to CSP

A federally funded program known as the Conservation Security Program that was authorized by the 2002 Farm Bill to provide financial and technical assistance to farmers practicing sound conservation techniques on their land has been revamped.

Given new life and funding under the 2008 Farm Bill, the program has also been given a new name. The new Conservation Stewardship Program is designed to support stewardship of privately owned agricultural lands by providing monetary support and other forms of aid to farmers across the nation who work to establish, maintain and enhance the natural resources on their property and "identifies and rewards those farmers and ranchers who are meeting the highest standards of conservation and environmental management on their operation."

There have been a number of changes in the way the program is administered, but it continues to keep its distinctive approach of rewarding farmers and ranchers for managing their land so it produces real and measurable conservation objectives.

One of the major differences in the new plan is that the program is no longer administered using watershed boundaries to determine eligibility for inclusion. Previously, only a select few watersheds were designated to be eligible each year. This approach has left Vernon County producers out of the program because none of the watersheds contained any of the producers in the county. Some Barton County producers were able to enroll in the old program, and they will remain eligible under the new guidelines.

Under the new guidelines, all farmers across the country are eligible to sign up for the program. In a press release issued by the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Dwaine Gelnar, acting state conservationist said, "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."

There are different types of producers and a lot of requirements to be met before obtaining a CSP contract. Several different kinds of lands are also eligible for inclusion. Lands currently enrolled in conservation reserve programs are not eligible, however, all contracts under the old program will be honored.

According to David Clyman the District Conservationist for the Vernon County office of the NRCS, Missouri crop and forage producers will able to enroll 295,948 acres in the program. Payments will range from $12-22 per acre for crop land and $7-14 per forage acre. There will be a total of 39,376 acres of Missouri forests in the program with payments from $6-12 per acre.

The contracts will be awarded according to "a ranking system, the ones that have done conservation in the past will be given a higher ranking," said Clyman. He said there has been a "tool" developed that takes the input provided during an interview and determines the rank of an individual producer. Those producers with the highest ranking stand a better chance of getting a contract. He went to say that participation will give producers "increased access to cost sharing."

Interested producers can begin the application process now and the NRCS will be taking applications until the end of the year. There has been some interest in the program, but no applications have been taken by the local office yet. For more information on the program, the application process or questions contact the Vernon County office of the Natural Resources Conservation Service at (417) 667-8137 or visit their Web site at www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/farmbill.