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Helping People Help The Land... |
CSP program changed dramatically in the 2008 Farm Bill from its predecessor the Conservation Security Program. This new program focuses on encouraging additional conservation practices in addition to improving, maintaining, and managing existing ones. Eligible lands now consist of the new addition of non-industrial private forest lands, cropland, and pasture land. Interested persons may review and select from the more than 100 enhancement practices from the CSP program on line: http://www.mn.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/csp2/2009/jobsheets.html. Those interested in applying are encouraged to use a self-screening checklist to determine if this new program is suitable for them and their operation. These checklists are available at the local Fairmont field office and online at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/new_csp/csp.html.
USDA Issues Final Rule for Conservation Stewardship Program
http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/news/releases/2010/csp_final_rule_6.03.10.html
Fact Sheet:
Conservation Stewardship
August 2009
Program Click Here or visit the NRCS Website at:MDA Conservation Updates is an ongoing effort by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture to help farm and commodity group leaders stay informed about opportunities, changes and developments in conservation programs and policy. Please share with your organization's members as you see fit. Contact us if you have questions or comments or no longer wish to receive these emails.
This edition contains the following updates:
1. CSP 2010 Signup through June 25
2. FSA County Committee Nominations, June 15 - August 2
3. SWCD Elections
4. CSP 2009 Signup Results for Minnesota
1. CSP 2010 Signup through June 25
Interested producers now have until Friday, June 25, 2010 to apply for the second Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) ranking and funding period at local USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) offices. The signup has been under way since mid-May and already Minnesota NRCS offices have over 1,000 applications.
Offered nationwide, CSP rewards producers who maintain high levels of conservation on working lands and agree to take on additional conservation activities over a five-year period. Annual CSP payments are commensurate with the level of new and existing conservation. A supplemental payment is received by participants who adopt resource conserving crop rotations that include grasses and/or legumes. Payment rate information for contracts approved in the 2009 signup is provided in Article #4 below.
A self-screening checklist is available to help farmers decide if CSP is right for them. To apply for the 2010 round of funding, farmers must submit a completed CSP application form by June 25. The application process also includes a resource inventory completed at the local NRCS office. Applicants can use the inventory questionnaires posted on the national CSP 2010 website to begin drafting responses on their own. NRCS staff will enter responses into a Conservation Measurement Tool (CMT) that scores a farm’s existing and proposed new conservation activities based on the degree of conservation benefit provided. The CMT score determines acceptance into the program as well as payment rates. Scored applications are ranked in geographic pools that vary by state. The same CSP geographic ranking pools used in Minnesota for the 2009 signup will be used in the 2010 signup.
The 2010 CSP signup features several changes, including a revised menu of more than 70 conservation enhancement activities. Behind every enhancement activity is a detailed job sheet. Participants may select enhancements “a la carte” or in bundles. Currently, seven bundles are offered. One example is a bundle of conservation-oriented nutrient and pesticide application technologies including drift-reducing nozzles, targeted spraying, precision application of nutrients, buffer widening, and high-level integrated pest management. Another example is a bundle of pasture management activities that enhance wildlife and water quality benefits.
A June 3, 2010 NRCS news release announced the publication of the CSP final rule. In addition to bundles, key changes detailed in the final rule include higher payment rates for new/additional conservation activities as compared to existing conservation activities, redefinition of “resource conserving crop rotation” to require the use of grass and/or legumes, “pastured cropland” as a new land use category with higher payment rates than “pasture land,” a higher total contract payment limit of $400,00 for joint operations (was $200,000), and a minimum payment of $1,000 for beginning, limited resource, or socially disadvantaged farmers.
2. FSA County Committee Nominations, June 15 - August 2
From June 15 through August 2, 2010, agricultural producers may nominate themselves or others to serve on local USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) County Committees. Nomination forms are available online at www.fsa.usda.gov/elections or at local USDA service centers. The election will take place November 5 through December 6 and newly elected FSA County Committee members will take office January 1, 2011.
Participation in the election is important to all producers large or small, beginning or well-established. Committee members help ensure that FSA programs serve the needs of local producers. They provide critical input on FSA commodity price support loans and payments, conservation programs, payment eligibility, emergency programs and more.
An FSA County Committee Election fact sheet provides complete information about the 2010 election process.
3. SWCD Elections
Supervisor positions for Minnesota’s 90 Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs) are filled through general elections. SWCD supervisors set overall policy and long-term objectives for their district and work with SWCD staff to see that policies and plans are implemented. June 1, 2010 was the last day for candidates to file for an SWCD supervisor position in the November 2, 2010 general election.
SWCDs are local units of government that manage and direct natural resource management programs at the local level. Minnesota’s SWCDs cover the entire state, working with landowners in both rural and urban settings to carry out programs for the conservation, use, and development of soil, water, and related resources. In particular, SWCDs fill the crucial niche of providing soil and water conservation services to owners of private lands. Whether agriculture, forest, lakes, or urban, the management of these privately owned lands—78% of the state’s land surface—is key to Minnesotans’ quality of life.
To help educate voters about the current slate of SWCD supervisor candidates, the Minnesota Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts (MASWCD) will post candidate profiles on its website at www.maswcd.org. Candidates will be asked about their motivation for running for the position, the strengths they would bring to the SWCD Board, their experience with conservation issues, and what, if any, conservation ideas or changes they would like to see implemented in the district.
4. CSP 2009 Signup Results for Minnesota
The first nationwide Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) signup was held in August-September 2009. More than 1600 Minnesota landowners applied. Ultimately, more than 900 CSP contracts were approved in Minnesota, which is 7.8% of the national total. Many if not most of the unfunded applications are being considered in the 2010 signup.
Annual payments for land enrolled in the 2009 CSP signup in Minnesota ranged from $18-$32/acre for cropland (including, where applicable, a $16/acre supplemental payment for resource-conserving crop rotations), $6-$18/acre for pasture, and $2-$6/acre for forest. The NRCS document Payment for Performance explains how CSP payment rates were set.
Altogether, contracts enrolled under the 2009 signup in Minnesota will result in $9.9 million worth of conservation maintenance, management, and enhancement on approximately 468,000 acres of privately owned working lands over five years (about 411,000 acres agricultural land and 57,000 acres forest land). County-level data on the number of contracts, acres and dollars were provided at an April 23 State Technical Committee meeting. The Minnesota NRCS CSP website has additional information about the 2009 CSP signup.
Barbara Weisman, Planner Senior
Minnesota Department of Agriculture
Ag Development & Financial Assistance Division
ph 651-201-6631
fax 651-201-6120
625 Robert St. North, St. Paul, MN 55155
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The following quotes are from: H. H. Bennett. "Adjustment of Agriculture to Its Environment." Annals of the Association of American Geographers XXXIII (December, 1943): 163-198. This was Bennett's presidential address to the Association of American Geographers. September 18, 1943, Washington, DC |
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Productive soil is life, and productive soil is vanishing with each passing year. Page 197. |