 "The Conservation Stewardship Program rewards farmers who are
good conservationists. It helps offset the costs of expensive
conservation activities that enhance soil, air and water
quality, as well as promote wildlife habitat and energy
conservation," said Devin Brown, conservation policy advocate at
the Illinois Stewardship Alliance. "Programs like CSP help level
the playing field in the marketplace by actually paying farmers
to implement and maintain the practices that enhance the
long-term productivity of their farms."
Originally called the Conservation Security Program, the
Conservation Stewardship Program greatly expands the scope of
its predecessor. Previously, CSP was limited to select
watersheds and the enrollment periods were short. Now, any
farmer across Illinois can apply, and sign-up is continuous. The
program also got a boost in funding of $12 billion over the next
10 years, allowing an estimated 13 million acres to be enrolled
nationwide every year.
The fundamentals of the old and new CSP are the same. Farmers
are paid to maintain existing conservation activities and
implement new conservation practices. CSP focuses on
comprehensive planning and emphasizes continual improvement.
Since CSP relies on resource-specific indexes to measure
environmental benefits and ecosystem services, farmers who are
truly conservation leaders are compensated for improving the
soil, air, water quality, wildlife habitat and energy
conservation.
"CSP has allowed me to implement new practices to conserve
soil and maintain clean water on my 1,000-acre cattle farm,"
said Robert Carlyn Light of Union County. "It also helped me to
maintain existing structures to control water flow, like rock
checks and dry dams, which is very important, because my land is
highly erodible land."
CSP is available for all working agricultural land, whether
it's cropland (corn, soybeans, small grains, hay, fruits and
vegetables), pasture, rangeland or managed woodlot. CSP does not
prevent farmers or ranchers from receiving other farm program
payments, although lands currently enrolled in the Conservation
Reserve Program, Grassland Reserve Program, Wetlands Reserve
Program or the old Conservation Security Program are ineligible
for the CSP until their existing program contracts conclude.
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While the program now has a continuous enrollment, there are
deadlines so that each set of applications can be ranked. The next
deadline is Sept. 30. However, due to the short time period, farmers
are allowed to finish the process after the deadline, as long as
they have completed the application before Sept. 30. Farmers can
apply through their local Natural Resources Conservation Service
office. Successful farmers will receive five-year contracts and up
to $200,000 in benefits over the five-year contract period for each
farm.
"Interested farmers should complete the
Producer Self-Screening Checklist to assess their eligibility
for the program, which will help producers determine if the program
is right for them," said Ivan Dozier, assistant state
conservationist for Illinois. The checklist can be downloaded from
www.il.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/csp/index.html or picked up at
local NRCS offices. For more information, farmers are encouraged to
contact their local NRCS offices or contact the Illinois Stewardship
Alliance at 618-771-0237.
Illinois Stewardship Alliance is a statewide membership that
promotes ecologically sustainable, economically viable, socially
just local food systems through policy development, advocacy and
education.
[Text from file received from the
Illinois Stewardship Alliance]
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