Conservation Stewardship Program

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.

Our Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) helps you build on your existing conservation efforts while strengthening your operation. Whether you are looking to improve grazing conditions, increases 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 goal.

Application

While applications for CSP are accepted year round, applications must be received by March 2, 2018 to be considered for this funding period.

Applications to renew existing CSP contracts expiring on Dec. 31, 2018 are due by April 13, 2018.

Sustainable Production

CSP is for working lands. It is the largest conservation program in the United States with 70 million acres of productive agricultural and forest land enrolled in CSP. Thousands of people have made the choice to voluntarily enroll in the program because it helps them enhance natural resources and improve their business operation.

Some of the benefits include:

• Improved cattle gains per acre
• Increased crop yields
• Decreased inputs
• Wildlife population improvements
• Better resilience to weather extremes

Through CSP, we can help build your business while implementing conservation practices that help ensure the sustainability of your entire operation. Good land stewardship not only conserves the natural resources on your farm, ranch or forest, it also provides multiple benefits to local communities, including better water and air quality and wildlife habitat, as well as food and fiber.

• CSP Evaluation Questions by Land Use
• Targeted Resource Concerns for Montana
• Resource Conserving Crop Rotations for Montana
• CSP Funding Pools and Local Ranking Criteria for Montana
• 2018 CSP Enhancements for Montana
• CSP Contracts and Payments
• CSP Landscape Conservation Initiative for Sage Grouse
• Prior-Year Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) Montana Archives

CSP Evaluation Questions by Land Use

• General Agriculture - Annual Crop (PDF; 349 KB)
• General Agriculture - Associated Ag Land (PDF; 320 KB)
• General Agriculture - Farmstead (PDF; 89 KB)
• General Agriculture - Pasture (PDF; 181 KB)
• General Agriculture - Perennial Crop (PDF; 328 KB)
• General Agriculture - Rangeland (PDF; 329 KB)
• Non-Industrial Private Forest Land (NIPF) - Associated Ag Land (PDF; 150 KB)
• NIPF - Farmstead (PDF; 136 KB)
• NIPF - Forest (PDF; 150 KB)
• Working Land for Wildlife: Landscape Conservation Initiative (LCI) - Sage Grouse Conservation Initiative (SGI) - Associated Ag Land (PDF; 407 KB)
• LCI-SGI - Annual Crop (PDF; 506 KB)
• LCI-SGI - Farmstead (PDF; 380 KB)
• LCI-SGI - Pasture (PDF; 339 KB)
• LCI-SGI - Perennial Crop (PDF; 588 KB)
• LCI-SGI - Rangeland (PDF; 369 KB)

Targeted Resource Concerns for Montana

• Degraded Plant Condition
• Fish and Wildlife – Inadequate Habitat
• Soil Erosion
• Soil Quality Degradation
• Water Quality Degradation

Resource Conserving Crop Rotations for Montana

A Resource Conserving Crop Rotation (RCCR) for Montana can be either;

1. A perennial grass, legume or grass legume mix grown for a minimum of two consecutive years with at least one year of another crop in the rotation. The RCCR enhancement is not eligible on land that currently is used for long term hay or pasture. The grass or legume must be grown for a minimum of two years but no more than 6 years; total rotation can be no more than 7 years. This would involve converting existing cropland where annually planted crops are grown and planting a grass, legume or grass legume mix that is grown for a minimum of two years.
   
   OR
    
2. Growing an annual legume as a green manure or a “cocktail mix” cover crop for soil health in a small grain rotation. Interseeding of green manure or “cocktail mix” with the cash crop or seeding after harvest is allowed only under irrigated or high moisture conditions. No harvest or removal of small grain residue or cover crops is allowed.

CSP Funding Pools and Local Ranking Criteria for Montana

2018 CSP Enhancements

For detailed information on implementation criteria and documentation requirements of specific enhancements, please visit the National CSP website where a complete list of enhancements and the criteria for implementation may be found.

• National CSP Enhancements and Bundles
• CSP 2018 Enhancements - Montana Supplements
• Montana 2018 CSP Enhancements Compatibility Matrix (PDF; 484 KB)

Information on available activities in Montana:

• Montana Activity List for Participants: Enhancements (PDF; 794 KB)
• Montana Activity List for Participants: Practices (PDF; 343 KB)
• Montana Activity List for Participants: Bundles (PDF; 41 KB)

CSP Contracts and Payments

The program represents a genuine commitment to conservation. CSP contracts last five years, with the option to renew if you successfully fulfill the initial contract and agree to achieve additional conservation objectives. An NRCS conservation planner will work closely with you throughout the entire process.

Contract payments are based on two components:

• Annual Payment - For installing and adopting additional conservation activities and improving, maintaining, and managing existing conservation activities across the entire agricultural operation. Annual payments may vary from year to year depending on the management system agreed to at the time of enrollment and the extent of additional activities completed each year. Additional activity payments will be based on the activities actually completed in a given year and existing activity payments will be the same each year and can be made in years when there are no new activities scheduled.
• Supplemental Payments - Can be made on cropland for either adopting a resource conserving crop rotation or improving a resource conserving crop rotation.

Minimum Payments: NRCS will make a $1,500 minimum payment to a CSP contract in any fiscal year that the contract’s payment amount total is less than $1,500.

• FY2018 Montana Payment Schedules

You will be required to maintain the stewardship level of the resource concerns you are already meeting, plus meet or exceed at least one additional resource concern in each land use by the end of the contract. If the objectives of the initial CSP contract are achieved, you may be eligible to re-enroll for an additional 5 year contract if you agree to adopt additional conservation activities to meet or exceed two additional priority resource concerns.

CSP Landscape Conservation Initiative for Sage Grouse

The CSP Landscape Conservation Initiative for Sage Grouse Initiative (LCI-SGI) encourages agricultural producers to enhance natural resources on their agricultural operation for sage grouse habitat. Producers who have their agricultural operation within a priority sage grouse area and agree to incorporate the core enhancement in their agricultural operation may qualify.

• Montana Sage-Grouse Habitat Designations map (PDF; 429 KB)
• Working Lands for Wildlife Screening Questions (PDF; 151 KB)

The CSP LCI-SGI program has the same eligibility, ranking and application process as the general CSP sign up. Applications must be submitted to your local NRCS office by March 2, 2018.

Prior-Year Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) Montana Archives

• 2017 Conservation Stewardship Program Archival Purposes Only
• 2016 Conservation Stewardship Program Archival Purposes Only
• 2015 Conservation Stewardship Program Archival Purposes Only
• 2014 Conservation Stewardship Program Archival Purposes Only
• 2013-01 Conservation Stewardship Program Archival Purposes Only
• 2012-01 Conservation Stewardship Program Archival Purposes Only
• 2011-01 Conservation Stewardship Program Archival Purposes Only
• 2010-02 Conservation Stewardship Program Archival Purposes Only
• 2010-01 Conservation Stewardship Program Archival Purposes Only
• 2009 Conservation Stewardship Program (sign-up 2010-01) Archival Purposes Only

Contact

Kelley Barkell
CSP and EQIP Specialist
Phone: 406-587-6849
Email: Kelley.Barkell

For further information and assistance, contact your local NRCS Field Service Center.