NSAC's Blog
Conservation Stewardship Program Renewal Process Starting
July 11, 2014
Farmers and ranchers who enrolled in the the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) in 2010 can re-enroll their farms for another five years by submitting a renewal application to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resource Conservation (NRCS). The window to apply to re-enroll extends from July 11 to September 12.
CSP is a comprehensive working lands conservation program that provides technical and financial assistance to farmers and ranchers to actively manage and maintain existing conservation systems and to implement additional conservation activities on land in crop and livestock production. Through CSP, participants take steps to improve soil, water, air, and habitat quality, and can also address water quantity and energy conservation issues.
CSP rewards advanced conservation systems. It also supports continual improvement of conservation systems through the contract renewal process. In taking the renewal option, producers agree to adopt and continue to integrate conservation activities across the their entire operation and agree to undertake additional conservation measures. By the end of the second five-year contract, most CSP farmers will be at or above the good stewardship threshold for at least four priority resource concerns for their state or region.
CSP contracts last for five years, at which time they are eligible for renewal. There are approximately 20,000 farmers and ranchers with CSP contracts that will expire this year, totaling over 20 million acres that can be re-enrolled to preserve and expand upon critical environmental benefits.
It Pays to Renew
It is optional to renew an expiring contract, and participants who do not re-enroll can always re-apply and compete for funding in future annual CSP signups. However, there is significant benefit to renewing now: the process for renewing is non-competitive (since producers already received competitively awarded contracts) and much simpler than re-applying through the competitive process later, and participants will avoid any gaps in their CSP payments that would otherwise occur.
NRCS has mailed letters to all CSP participants with contracts that are set to expire this year. The producer must sign up for the renewal offer between July 11 and September 12, 2014. Following this initial renewal period, eligibility determinations and obligations will be completed in the first quarter of fiscal year 2015 (October – December 2014).
There were two different enrollment periods in 2010. The first was actually the 2009 sign-up class and the second the 2010 class. The first group has contracts set to expire on September 30, 2014 and the second group has contracts that will expire on December 31, 2014. Farmers in the first group will first extend their current contracts through December 31, 2014 so that both 2010 enrollment classes will now expire at the end of the calendar year. Renewal contracts will go into effect January 1, 2015.
The renewal process should be fairly simple. Producers can contact their local NRCS office with any questions about the renewal process.
Not to Soon to Apply for 2015 New Enrollment
The regular CSP enrollment period for 2015 for new entrants into the program is to occur this winter. At that time, 10 million new acres will be added to the program. Farmers and ranchers who have not yet participated in CSP will have the chance to enroll at that time.
CSP has a continual application process, so farmers can submit their application to enroll now or at any time. The cutoff date for 2015 applications will be announced sometime this fall, and the cut-off for applications will likely be fairly early in calendar year 2015. Farmers can ensure they do not miss the cutoff by submitting an application this summer or fall.
Categories: Conservation, Energy & Environment
[…] Anyone who enrolled in CSP in 2010, you can re-enroll your farm, from now until September 12, 2014. Re-enrolling is much easier than re-applying because it is non-competitive and much simpler. For those wanting to enroll for the first time, you can submit an application at any time. The cutoff date for 2015 contracts will be sometime this fall. For more info, visit your local NRCS office and read NSAC’s blog post: https://sustainableagriculture.net/blog/csp-renewals/ […]