Second ranking opens for conservation stewardship
Saturday, October 24, 2009
The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) received 21,300 applications to participate in the new Conservation Stewardship Program, which represents and estimated 33 million acres nationwide.
“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.
Kansas received 778 applications according to Eric B. Banks, Kansas NRCS State conservationist.
“Kansas received 541,404 acres in agricultural land and 6,418 acres in nonindustrial private forestland for its share of the annual acreage enrollment,” Banks said. Congress capped the annual acreage enrollment nationally at 12,769,000 for each fiscal year.
Lands accepted into the CSP include private agricultural land and nonindustrial private forestland and agricultural land under the jurisdiction of an Indian tribe. Operators, with control of the land, are eligible to apply for CSP assistance.
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.
“Those who were not approved for funding through this first ranking period will have the option to participate in the second ranking period,” Banks said. “Which will be held from Oct. 1, 2009, to January 2010.”
For additional information about CSP including eligibility requirements, visit www.nrcs.usda.gov/new_csp or visit your local NRCS field office or the Kansas Web site at ks.nrcs.usda.gov.