Conservation Security Program Details and Application Process

Last Modified: 05/27/2008

CSP is a voluntary program that provides financial and technical assistance to promote the conservation and improvement of soil, water, air, energy, plant and animal life, and other conservation purposes on Tribal and private working lands. Working lands include cropland, grassland, prairie land, improved pasture, and range land, as well as forested land that is an incidental part of an agriculture operation. The program is available in all 50 States, the Caribbean Area and the Pacific Basin area. The program provides equitable access to benefits to all producers, regardless of size of operation, crops produced, or geographic location.

The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (2002 Farm Bill) (Pub. L. 107-171) amended the Food Security Act of 1985 to authorize the program. CSP is administered by USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

Eligibility

Applicants: Agricultural producers – individuals or entities engaged in livestock or agricultural production on working lands – may participate in CSP. There are, however, circumstances that limit an individual’s or entity’s participation; these include:

• The applicant must have control of the land for the life of the contract.
• The applicant must share in the risk of producing any crop or livestock and be entitled to a share in the crop or livestock marketed from the operation.
• The applicant must be in compliance with highly erodible land and wetland conservation provisions.
• The adjusted gross income provision of the 2002 Farm Bill impacts eligibility for CSP and several other 2002 Farm Bill programs. Individuals or entities that have an average adjusted gross income exceeding $2.5 million for the three tax years immediately preceding the year the contract is approved are not eligible to receive program benefits or payments.
• Applicants may submit only one application. Participants can only have one active contract at any one time.

Land: Private agricultural land eligible for CSP includes cropland, grassland, prairie land, improved pasture land, and rangeland. Also, private non-industrial forested land that is an incidental part of the agriculture operation (limited to up to ten percent of the contract acres) is eligible. The majority of the agricultural operation must be within one of the selected watersheds.
Land that is not eligible for CSP includes:

• Land owned by Federal and State governments and their political subdivisions;
• Land enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, the Wetlands Reserve Program, or the Grassland Reserve Program; in addition, land accepted in a recent CRP sign-up for contract development is not eligible.

Application Process

Applicants are encouraged to attend preliminary workshops, which are announced locally. At the workshop, basic qualifications are explained, and assistance is provided to help attendees understand the self-assessment workbook and benchmark inventory.

Producers begin the application process by filling out a self-assessment to determine if they meet the basic qualifications for CSP. Self-assessment workbooks are available in hard copy at USDA Service Centers within the watersheds, and electronically for download or from an interactive Web site linked from the CSP Web page. The self-assessment workbook includes a benchmark inventory where applicants document the conservation practices and activities that are ongoing on their operation. This benchmark inventory serves as the basis for the stewardship plan.

Once producers determine that they meet the minimum requirements for CSP, as outlined in the workbook, they should make an appointment for an interview to discuss their application with the NRCS local staff.

In order to apply, applicants must submit:

1. A completed self-assessment workbook, including the benchmark inventory; 
2. Two years of written records to document past stewardship levels, including fertilizer, nutrient, and pesticide application schedules, tillage, and grazing schedules if applicable. 
3. Completed Conservation Program Application, CCC–1200, available through the self-assessment online guide and at any USDA Service Center.

Based on the application, description of current conservation activities, and the interview, NRCS determines CSP eligibility and in which program tier and enrollment category the applicant may participate.

• For Tier I, the producer must have addressed soil quality and water quality to the described minimum level of treatment for eligible land uses on part of the agricultural operation prior to acceptance.
• For Tier II, the producer must have addressed soil quality and water quality to the described minimum level of treatment on all eligible land uses on the entire agricultural operation prior to acceptance and agree to address an additional resource concern applicable to their watershed by the end of the contract period.
• For Tier III, the producer must have addressed all applicable resource concerns to a resource management system level that meets the NRCS Field Office Technical Guide standards on all eligible land uses on the entire agricultural operation before acceptance into the program and have riparian zones adequately treated.

Approval Process

Applications which meet the minimum requirements will be placed in enrollment categories and subcategories for funding consideration. Categories will be funded in order from A through E until funds are exhausted. If funds are not available to fund an entire category, then subcategories will be used to determine funding order within a category.

CSP Contract Payments and Limits

CSP contract payments include one or more of the following components subject to the described limits:

•  An annual per acre stewardship component for the benchmark conservation treatment. This component is calculated separately for each land use based on eligible acres, the stewardship payment rate, and additional factors.
• An annual existing practice component for maintaining existing conservation practices. Existing practice payments will be calculated as a flat rate of 25 percent of the stewardship payment.
• An annual enhancement component for exceptional conservation effort and additional conservation practices or activities that provide increased resource benefits beyond minimum requirements.

Contact Information

Brandy Pietz-Jones
Programs Liaison
Phone: 580-323-2580
Email: Brandy Pietz-Jones

Steve Kelley
CSP Watershed Team Leader
Phone: 580-323-0366 x111
Email: Steve Kelley

Richard Zetterberg
Resource Conservationist
Phone: 405-742-1208
Email: Richard Zetterberg

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