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Iowa Farmers Show Strong Interest in New Conservation Stewardship Program

DES MOINES, IA, Oct. 22, 2009— Iowa farmers and landowners submitted more than 1,000 applications to participate in the new Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), announced Iowa State Conservationist Richard Sims, with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). These applications cover an estimated 500,000 acres.

Counties with the most CSP applications include Winneshiek, 46; Webster, 43; and Clayton, 29.

These numbers are preliminary estimates, he said. Final numbers will be announced later this fall after applications are processed in the conservation measurement tool (CMT), used by NRCS field staff to evaluate applicants’ current and future conservation stewardship which is used to calculate final eligibility and CSP contract details.

New applicants and those not approved for funding in this sign-up will have the option to participate in the second sign-up period, which will be held through January 2010.

On the national level, NRCS received 21,300 applications to participate covering an estimated 33 million acres. Congress capped the annual acreage enrollment nationally at 12,769,000 for each fiscal year. “NRCS has received enough applications to carry out conservation activities on more than twice the number of acres Congress authorized for CSP this year,” said NRCS Chief Dave White. “This incredible response shows that conservation-minded producers and landowners want to attain higher levels of conservation stewardship.”

CSP provides financial and technical assistance to eligible agricultural and forestry producers to conserve and enhance soil, water, air and related natural resources on their land, and encourages producers to voluntarily implement more conservation practices and improve, maintain and manage existing ones.

Lands accepted into CSP include cropland, pastureland, rangeland and non-industrial private forestland—a new land use for the program—and agricultural land under the jurisdiction of an Indian tribe. Individual landowners/operators, legal entities, corporations and Indian tribes are eligible to apply for CSP assistance.

For additional information about CSP, including eligibility requirements, the interim final rule, and to submit comments please visit www.nrcs.usda.gov/new_csp or visit your local NRCS field office.

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Contacts:
Tom O'Connor, 515-284-4353
Laura Greiner, 515-323-2207


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