USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) wants to remind producers they are accepting Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) renewal applications until April 7 for contracts set to end later this year. The original deadline was March 31, but last week they announced it had been extended one more week.
So producers with existing CSP contracts that close Dec. 31, 2021, can benefit from recent program changes by renewing their contracts for an additional five years if they agree to adopt additional conservation practices on their land.
CSP is for working lands, including cropland, pastureland, rangeland, non-industrial forestland as well as tribal lands. The program helps producers build on existing conservation efforts while strengthening their operations.
Through CSP, agricultural producers and forest landowners earn payments for managing, maintaining, and expanding conservation activities like cover crops, buffer strips, pollinators, and beneficial insect habitat and soil health activities while maintaining agricultural production on their land.
Producers interested in contract renewals need to contact their local USDA service center by April 7.