WASHINGTON, D.C. — The USDA has announced some proposed changes to its Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). They are contained in an interim final rule published Nov. 5 in the Federal Register.

According to the USDA, the changes would make the program more efficient. An interim final rule is a rule that is effective immediately, even though a notice of proposed rulemaking has not preceded it. Nonetheless, public comments on the rule are requested. The agency considers these when determining if any changes or clarifications are needed in the development of a final rule.

“Farmers, ranchers and non-industrial forestland owners enrolled in the Conservation Stewardship Program are our nation’s conservation leaders, as they go the extra mile to conserve our natural resources,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “This program continues to enable owners and managers of private lands to reach the next level of conservation.”

The announcement describes CSP as one of USDA’s largest conservation programs for working agricultural lands. The rule establishes the role of CSP as one of the programs to help the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) accomplish its purposes. Vilsack said participants will be able to deliver more conservation benefits than ever under the revised program rules.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) administers the CSP, which pays farmers for conservation performance; the better the performance, the higher the payment, the agency says. In CSP, producers install conservation enhancements to make positive changes in soil, water and air quality, water quantity, plant and animal resources and energy conservation.

More than 64 million acres have been enrolled in the program since its launch in 2009. Vilsack said the NRCS is working to simplify the administrative complexity of CSP by streamlining the regulation. Congress made several changes to CSP in the 2014 farm bill, and NRCS has made some additional minor changes to make the regulation easier to read.

Specifically, the changes will require contract offers to meet stewardship threshold for at least two priority resource concerns and meet or exceed one additional priority resource concern by the end of the stewardship contract. The previous requirement was to meet one resource concern at the time of the contract offer and one additional resource concern by the end of the contract. The farm bill brought about this change.

Also, it will allow enrollment of lands that are protected by an agricultural land easement under the newly authorized Agricultural Conservation Easement Program, reflecting that these farm and ranch lands provide stewardship benefit currently and in the long-term.

Third, it allows enrollment of lands that are in the last year of the Conservation Reserve Program, providing a means for conservation-minded producers to continue to provide stewardship benefits on these environmentally sensitive lands. Too, it allows the contract to be renewed if the threshold for two additional priority resource concerns will be met, or the stewardship threshold will be exceeded for two existing priority resource concerns – again increasing the conservation benefit that will be achieved through program participation.

Finally, it provides increased flexibility to address changes to agricultural operations that will achieve the same or greater stewardship benefit. It also establishes CSP as a covered program authorized to accomplish the purposes of the RCPP, leveraging resources available to agricultural producers through coordination with other conservation partners.

To see the rule or make a comment on it, go to http://regulations.gov and search using the phrase “Conservation Stewardship Program.”