By MICHELE F. MIHALJEVICH
Indiana Correspondent INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Farmers in the Upper East Fork White River Watershed in southeast Indiana may begin signing up later this month to participate in the Conservation Security Program (CSP).
CSP is a voluntary national program that provides payments to producers who maintain and enhance natural resources on their private lands. Contracts run five to 10 years.
The signup period, announced last month by USDA Secretary Ed Schafer, is April 18 to May 16.
The Upper East Fork White River Watershed covers 519,330 acres in seven counties - Bartholomew, Brown, Decatur, Jackson, Jennings, Rush and Shelby, said Mike McGovern, NRCS Indiana public affairs specialist. More than 1,300 farms are in the watershed.
“CSP rewards some of the best farmers in the state for their good work,” said Jane Hardisty, NRCS state conservationist. “All the farmers in this watershed should get a pat on the back.”
The watershed was originally selected for the program in 2006, but was dropped because of funding problems, McGovern said. CSP wasn’t offered last year.
This is the fourth time Hoosier farmers in a part of the state have been eligible to participate, he said. Two watersheds were chosen in 2004, four in 2005 and two in 2006, he said.
“This is competitive. They give us just so much money,” McGovern said. “Our farmers are competing with farmers all over the country.
“The program rewards those who have done well for a long period.”
The NRCS ranked the state’s watersheds and the Upper East Fork White River was considered a top priority, he said. “There are others close to this one in priority,” he said. “But we’ll eventually get into all of them.”
The watershed has a mixture of grazing and grain farmers, Hardisty said.
“There’s a lot of grazing, and some pretty sorry looking pastures,” she said. “But we’re concerned about the water quality, pesticides and nutrients working their way downstream. Crop fields are losing their topsoil.”
CSP benefits everyone, even if they don’t farm or live on a watershed in the program, McGovern said.
“The water is cleaner, there are fewer sediments,” he said. “Chemicals stay in place on the farm, and the soil is healthier. People, wildlife, birds, everything benefits.
“The idea is to reward the best, and motivate the rest,” he said.
NRCS has scheduled six informational meetings over the next few days, McGovern said. The first meeting is Monday, 6-9 p.m., North Decatur Elementary School, Greensburg. Additional sessions are Tuesday, 1-4 p.m., Brownstown Central High School Auditorium, Brownstown; Tuesday, 6-9 p.m., Jackson County Education Center, Seymour; April 9, 6-9 p.m., Bartho-lomew County Extension Office, Columbus; April 10, 1-4 p.m., Jennings County Public Library, North Vernon; and April 11, 9 a.m. to noon, Waynesburg Christian Church, Westport.
Based on response from other sign-up periods, McGovern said they expect 25-30 percent of farmers in the watershed to make an inquiry once they hear about the program.
The sign-up period is a little later than officials had hoped, he said.
“This is close to planting time,” he said. “It just kept getting pushed back. We know farmers will be busy. This is their livelihood.”
Self-evaluation information is available online, and interested farmers are encouraged to visit their local NRCS offices as soon as possible, Hardisty said.
“We hoped for an earlier sign-up,” Hardisty said. “But the continuing resolutions in the appropriations process, early in the federal fiscal year, and the uncertainties of the farm bill reauthorization process have been obstacles this year.”
CSP, a USDA program, was authorized in the 2002 farm bill, and monies were first distributed in 2004.
Since CSP began, 298 watersheds covering more than 224 million acres nationwide have been a part of the program.
For additional information, or to view a self-assessment booklet, go online to www.in.nrcs.usda.gov |
