Your Stewardship Goals. Our Assistance.
Have you ever looked across your property and thought about some land management goals you would like to take to the next level? Maybe we can help.
No one knows more about your land than you do, and no one knows more about conservation than we do. Together we can develop a plan tailored to your land and your goals to help you increase productivity and protect the value of your land.
How It Works
The Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) helps you build on your existing conservation efforts while strengthening your operation. Whether you are looking to improve grazing conditions, increase crop yields, or develop wildlife habitat, we can custom design a CSP plan to help you meet those goals. We can help you schedule timely planting of cover crops, develop a grazing plan that will improve your forage base, implement no-till to reduce erosion or manage forested areas in a way that benefits wildlife habitat. If you are already taking steps to improve the condition of the land, chances are CSP can help you find new ways to meet your goals.
Benefits
CSP is for working lands. It is the largest conservation program in the United States with more than 70 million acres of productive agricultural and forest land enrolled in CSP. Thousands of people voluntarily enroll in the program because it helps them enhance natural resources and improve their business operation.
CSP participants are seeing real results. Some of these benefits include:
- Increased crop yields
- Decreased inputs
- Wildlife habitat population improvements
- Increased resilience to weather extremes
CSP Grasslands Conservation Initiative
This new initiative will assist producers in protecting grazing land uses; conserving and improving soil, water and wildlife resources; and achieving related conservation values by conserving eligible land through grassland conservation contracts.
Eligible producers will have a single opportunity to enroll in a five-year contract. By signing the contract, producers agree to meet or exceed the stewardship threshold for one priority resource concern by the end of the five-year contract. NRCS will make payments for the initiative at a rate of $18 per acre each year not to exceed the base acres enrolled in a contract.
The next application signup cutoff for CSP-GCI is March 6, 2020. Visit your local NRCS office to apply.
2020 CSP Sign-Up
NRCS accepts applications for CSP on a continuous basis throughout the year. We announce signup cutoff deadlines as funds become available. For Fiscal Year 2020, the first application cutoff date for RENEWAL of expiring 2015-1 CSP contracts is March 20, 2020.
The application cutoff date for the 2020-1 CSP Classic signup will be announced soon!
Conservation Stewardship Program Application Materials
Conservation Activity Evaluation Tool
This tool is used to determine the current level of stewardship in a producer's operation
Iowa Ranking Pools
- Iowa Ag Lands General
- Iowa Ag Lands Beginning Farmer
- Iowa Ag Lands Socially Disadvantaged
- Iowa NIPF General
- Iowa NIPF Beginning Farmer
- Iowa NIPF Socially Disadvantaged
NIPF = Non-Industrial Private Forestland
Targeted Resource Concerns - Ag General
- Soil Quality Degradation
- Soil Erosion
- Water Quality Degradation
- Fish and Wildlife - Inadequate Habitat
- Livestock Production Limitation
Targeted Resource Concerns - Non-Industrial Private Forestland
- Soil Quality Degradation
- Soil Erosion
- Water Quality Degradation
- Fish and Wildlife - Inadequate Habitat
- Degraded Plant Condition
Iowa Resource Conserving Crop Rotations
Resource-conserving crop means a crop that is one of the following:
- A perennial grass;
- A legume grown for use as forage, seed for planting, or green manure;
- A legume-grass mixture;
- A small grain grown in combination with a grass or legume green manure crop whether inter-seeded or planted in rotation.
Organic Crosswalk
The 2018 Farm Bill recognizes the growing interest and support of organic agriculture across the country and required the development of a transparent means by which producers may initiate organic certification while participating in a CSP contract. The Conservation Stewardship Program for Organic Producers (PDF) brochure provides an explanation of how CSP enhancements can be used to assist organic producers.
Other Resources
CSP Contact:
Dave Brommel, 515-284-4262
For further information and assistance, contact your local NRCS Service Center
