SOMERSET, N.J. — Agricultural producers and forestland owners can earn payments for actively managing, maintaining, and expanding conservation activities like cover crops, precision application of nutrients or pesticides, buffer strips and pollinator and beneficial insect habitat — all while maintaining active agriculture production on their land, through participation in U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service Conservation Stewardship Program. Applications for CSP received by NRCS by close of business Feb. 3 will be considered for the 2017 program.
CSP is for producers who are already established conservation stewards, helping them to deliver multiple conservation benefits on working lands, including improved water and soil quality and enhanced wildlife habitat. The Conservation Stewardship Program has been updated to include new tools to help agricultural producers better evaluate their conservation options and the benefits to their operations and natural resources.
Opportunities offered by the updated CSP, national and state ranking questions and enhancement descriptions are detailed on the CSP portal, located at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/csp. This site provides information to help producers determine whether CSP is right for them and is updated to keep program information current.
Applications are available in local service centers. Producers and forest land owners interested in the program should visit their local USDA Service Center to submit an application. Office locations in New Jersey are provided online at https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/nj/contact/.
— USDA