Indiana NRCS Announces First FY23 Sign-up Period for Conservation Stewardship Program

USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Acting State Conservationist Dan Hovland announced today that Indiana is accepting applications for the first round of fiscal year 2023 Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) funding through Jan. 20, 2023. CSP is the nation’s largest conservation program. 

While applications are accepted year-round, interested producers should submit applications to their local NRCS office by Jan. 20 to be considered for the current funding period. Applications received after Jan. 20 will automatically be considered during the next funding cycle.

CSP is a financial assistance program for producers who are already established conservation stewards and who want to add more conservation benefits on their land, such as improved water and soil quality, climate-smart agricultural practices and enhanced wildlife habitat.

“CSP enables landowners to take their conservation practices to the next level,” Hovland said. “The better the performance of their conservation practices, the higher the payment they will receive. CSP is truly an opportunity to invest in your land and ensure you are protecting vital natural resources such as soil, air and water for years to come. This funding cycle is an opportunity to join the thousands of producers throughout the country who have already used CSP to positively impact more than 70 million acres nationwide.”

Through CSP, agricultural producers and forest landowners earn payments for actively managing, maintaining and expanding conservation activities like cover crops, ecologically-based pest management, buffer strips, and pollinator and beneficial insect habitat – all while maintaining active agriculture production on their land. CSP also encourages the adoption of cutting-edge technologies and management techniques, such as precision agriculture applications, on-site carbon storage, planting for high carbon sequestration rate and soil amendments to improve water quality.

CSP is for private working lands including cropland, pastureland, nonindustrial private forest land and agricultural land under the jurisdiction of a tribe. Agricultural producers wanting to enhance current conservation efforts on their land are encouraged to apply.

Information about CSP, including national and state ranking questions and enhancement descriptions, is available at www.nrcs.usda.gov/Indiana/csp. This one-stop shop, which provides information to help individuals determine whether CSP is right for them, will be continually updated as more information becomes available.  

For more information about Indiana NRCS and other technical and financial assistance available through conservation programs, visit www.nrcs.usda.gov/indiana or contact your District Conservationist at Farmers.gov/service-locator.