Conservation Stewardship Program - California
California CSP
Program Contact
Robert Boettcher
CSP Program Manager
Davis State Office, California
Phone: (530) 792-5534
Email: robert.boettcher@usda.gov
Program Deadlines
CSP - Classic
FY26 Application Deadline: January 15, 2026
CSP Eligibility
CSP is available to all producers, regardless of operation size or type of crops produced
State Resource Priorities
- Air Quality
- Degraded Plant Condition
- Field Pesticide Loss
- Field Sediment, Nutrient and Pathogen Loss
- Fire Management
- Livestock Production Limitation
- Soil quality limitations
- Terrestrial Habitat
Ranking Process
The State Conservationist, in consultation with the State Technical Committee has developed ranking criteria to prioritize and subsequently fund applications addressing priority natural resource concerns in California. NRCS uses the Conservation Assessment Ranking Tool (CART) to assess the site vulnerability, existing conditions, and identify potential resource concerns on a unit of land. After CART assessment, NRCS uses CART Ranking to evaluate an application in all applicable ranking pools.
Ranking Pools
- CSP assessments will be ranked as Agricultural Lands (cropland, pastureland, and rangeland) or Non-industrial Private Forestlands (NIPF)
- If the operation contains both Agricultural Lands and NIPF, and the applicant wishes to enroll all land uses, then separate contracts are required.
CSP Classic Ranking Pools
Agricultural Lands - General
Agricultural Lands – Beginning Farmer or Rancher
Agricultural Lands – Socially Disadvantaged Farmer or Rancher
Agricultural Lands – Organic (certified and transitioning)
Non-Industrial Private Forestlands – General
Non-Industrial Private Forestlands – Beginning Farmer or Rancher
Non-Industrial Private Forestlands – Socially Disadvantaged Farmer or Rancher
Ready to get started?
Contact your local service center to start your application.
How to Get Assistance
Do you farm or ranch and want to make improvements to the land that you own or lease?
Natural Resources Conservation Service offers technical and financial assistance to help farmers, ranchers and forest landowners.
To get started with NRCS, we recommend you stop by your local NRCS field office. We’ll discuss your vision for your land.
NRCS provides landowners with free technical assistance, or advice, for their land. Common technical assistance includes: resource assessment, practice design and resource monitoring. Your conservation planner will help you determine if financial assistance is right for you.
We’ll walk you through the application process. To get started on applying for financial assistance, we’ll work with you:
- To fill out an AD 1026, which ensures a conservation plan is in place before lands with highly erodible soils are farmed. It also ensures that identified wetland areas are protected.
- To meet other eligibility certifications.
Once complete, we’ll work with you on the application, or CPA 1200.
Applications for most programs are accepted on a continuous basis, but they’re considered for funding in different ranking periods. Be sure to ask your local NRCS district conservationist about the deadline for the ranking period to ensure you turn in your application in time.
As part of the application process, we’ll check to see if you are eligible. To do this, you’ll need to bring:
- An official tax ID (Social Security number or an employer ID)
- A property deed or lease agreement to show you have control of the property; and
- A farm number.
If you don’t have a farm number, you can get one from USDA’s Farm Service Agency. Typically, the local FSA office is located in the same building as the local NRCS office. You only need a farm number if you’re interested in financial assistance.
NRCS will take a look at the applications and rank them according to local resource concerns, the amount of conservation benefits the work will provide and the needs of applicants. View Application Ranking Dates by State.
If you’re selected, you can choose whether to sign the contract for the work to be done.
Once you sign the contract, you’ll be provided standards and specifications for completing the practice or practices, and then you will have a specified amount of time to implement. Once the work is implemented and inspected, you’ll be paid the rate of compensation for the work if it meets NRCS standards and specifications.