NRCS Announces Deadlines for Conservation Stewardship Program Contracts

Farmers and ranchers who signed Conservation Stewardship Program contracts in 2010 with the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service have until March 31 to renew those expiring contracts for another five years. 

State Conservationist Salvador Salinas said there are 447 CSP contracts in Texas that will expire on Dec. 31 if not renewed. Salinas said landowners may renew their existing contracts on a non-competitive basis if they are willing to adopt additional conservation activities aimed at helping them achieve higher levels of conservation on their farms, forests and ranches. Farmers and ranchers without CSP contracts can apply for the voluntary program until March 13, which is an extension of the previously announced deadline for new applications.

“CSP offers landowners the opportunity to be rewarded for the good resource conservation efforts they are currently undertaking,” Salinas said. “This program provides additional incentives for them to continue their enhancements on a voluntary basis.”

CSP will also help broaden the impacts of the Natural Resources Conservation Services’ (NRCS) Landscape Conservation Initiatives through a new pilot effort where NRCS established target enrollment in Texas set at 45,000 acres for the Ogallala Aquifer Initiative, 90,000 acres for the Lesser Prairie Chicken Initiative and 2,500 acres for the Long Leaf Pine Initiative. 

Salinas said changes in the 2014 Farm Bill allow CSP participants with expiring contracts to renew them by exceeding stewardship thresholds for two or more existing natural resource concerns or by meeting stewardship thresholds for at least two new natural resource concerns such as improving water quality or soil health. The 2014 Farm Bill includes an expanded conservation activity list that offers farmers more options to address natural resource challenges. New conservation activities include testing the effects of cover crops on soil quality, incorporating wildlife-beneficial management, and using innovative irrigation efforts to reduce water use.

CSP pays participants for conservation performance--the better the performance, the higher the payment. Nearly 70 million acres have been enrolled in the program nationally since its launch in 2009. About 9,300 contracts covering 12.2 million acres in the U.S. are nearing the end of their five-year term.

Salinas said that all farmers interested in CSP should contact their local NRCS offices, keeping in mind the two different deadlines for new contracts (March 13) and for contract renewals (March 31).