United States Department of Agriculture
Natural Resources Conservation Service
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updated 9/28/09

                             For information on the Conservation Security program, click here.

 

 

Conservation  Stewardship Program

* If you encounter any problems with the files on this page, please contact Molly McDonough at 717-237-2208.


Interim Final Rule Comment Period Extended to October 28, 2009 (pdf)
 

Farmer's Guide to the Conservation Stewardship Program Now Available

The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition's Farmer's Guide to the Conservation Stewardship Program is now available online!  The seventeen-page guide gives farmers the basic eligibility requirements, an overview of the enrollment process, and application steps.  The guide also includes answers to frequently asked questions with information specific to beginning farmers, organic farmers, farmers participating in the EQIP organic initiative, and tips for all farmers on how to maximize their points and payments.  

 


Introduction

The Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) is a voluntary conservation program that encourages producers to address resource concerns in a comprehensive manner by:

  • Improving, maintaining, and managing existing conservation activities; and

  • Undertaking additional conservation activities.

CSP is available in Pennsylvania on private agricultural lands and non-industrial forest land. The program provides equitable access to all producers, regardless of operation size, crops produced, or geographic location.
 

Program Description

Through CSP, NRCS will provide financial and technical assistance to eligible producers to conserve and enhance soil, water, air, and related natural resources on their land. Eligible lands include cropland, grassland, improved pastureland, nonindustrial private forest lands, and other private agricultural land (including cropped woodland, marshes, and agricultural land used for the production of livestock) on which resource concerns related to agricultural production could be addressed. Participation in the program is voluntary.

CSP encourages land stewards to improve their conservation performance by installing and adopting additional activities, and improving, maintaining, and managing existing activities on agricultural land and nonindustrial private forest land. CSP is available nationwide on a continuous application basis.

The State Conservationist, in consultation with the State Technical Committee and local work groups, will focus program impacts on natural resources that are of specific concern for Pennsylvania, or specific geographic areas within the State. Applications will be evaluated relative to other applications addressing similar priority resource concerns to facilitate a competitive ranking process among applicants who face similar resource challenges. Because of acreage and funding limits, not all applicants may be offered a contract.

The entire agricultural operation must be enrolled and must include all agricultural land that will be under the applicant's control for the five-year term of the proposed contract.

CSP offers participants two possible types of payments :

  1. Annual payment for installing and adopting additional activities, and improving, maintaining, and managing existing activities
  2. Supplemental payment for the adoption of resource-conserving crop rotations.
     

Eligibility

2009 Conservation Stewardship Self-Screening Checklist (PDF, 32KB)

Application

Conservation farmers and forest managers will need to submit an application by September 30, 2009 to be considered in the first ranking cycle. CSP has a continuous open application policy; applications received after September 30th will be considered in the subsequent ranking cycle.
 

Payment Information

2009 Estimated Payment Range
 

2009 CSP - Conservation Stewardship Program - Priority Resource Concerns

  Area Priority Resource Concerns
Ranking Pools   Air Quality Animals Energy Plants Soil Erosion Soil Quality Water Quality Water Quantity
Agricultural Lands

Northwest

  X  X   X x X  
 

Southwest

  X     X x X X
 

Northwest Central

  X   X X x X  
  Southwest Central       X X x X  
  Central   X X   X x X  
  Southeast Central X X     X x X  
  Northeast     X X X x X  
  Southeast X X     X x X  
Nonindustrial Private Forest Land

Statewide

  X   X X x X  

 

Northwest Counties Southwest Counties Northwest Central Southwest Central
Erie Allegheny Cameron Bedford
Crawford Armstrong Clearfield Blair
Mercer Beaver Clarion Cambria
Lawrence Butler Elk Fulton
  Fayette Forest Huntingdon
  Greene Jefferson Somerset
  Indiana McKean  
  Washington Potter  
  Westmoreland Warren  
Venango

 

Central Southeast Central Northeast Southeast
Centre Adams Bradford Berks
Clinton Cumberland Lackawanna Bucks
Columbia Dauphin Monroe Chester
Juniata Franklin Pike Delaware
Lycoming Lancaster Sullivan Lehigh
Mifflin Lebanon Susquehanna Montgomery
Montour Perry Tioga Northampton
Northumberland York Wayne Philadelphia
Snyder   Wyoming Schuylkill
Union
Luzerne      
Carbon      

 

Highlights and Announcements


July 29, 2009 - The Public Comment period for Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) Interim Final Rule (PDF, 134KB) is open until September 28, 2009.
 

2009 Enhancement Activity Job Sheets

"Enhancement" means a type of conservation activity used to treat natural resources and improve conservation performance. Enhancements are installed at a level of management intensity that exceeds the sustainable level for a given resource concern, and those directly related to a practice standard are applied in a manner that exceeds the minimum treatment requirements of the standard. 

2009 Conservation Stewardship Program Activity List (PDF)

Air Quality
Animal
Energy
Plant
Soil Erosion
Soil Quality
Water Quality
Water Quantity
Special Projects

Pennsylvania Supplements

Pennsylvania's Resource Conserving Crops for CSP

Program Contact

Barry Frantz, Assistant State Conservationist for Programs, 717-237-2216

 

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