By MICHELE F. MIHALJEVICH

Indiana Correspondent

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Farmers have until March 2 to apply for funding from the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP).

While producers may apply at any time to participate in the initiative, the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) occasionally announces deadlines in order to rank requests. Contracts are for five years with an option to renew for an additional five; the March 2 deadline is for new contracts.

This may be the only signup deadline for 2018, according to Eric Gerth, assistant state conservationist for financial assistance programs for the Illinois NRCS office. The agency hopes to enroll 10 million acres this year. More than 70 million are currently in CSP.

Participants in CSP are paid to actively manage, maintain and expand conservation practices while continuing agricultural production on their land. Eligible practices include cover crops, buffer strips and soil health-building activities. The program pays a minimum of $1,500 annually per contract.

“CSP helps farmers protect the investments they’ve made by protecting natural resources,” said Garry Lee, Michigan state conservationist. “It can help with erosion and soil quality. They can also receive annual payments for maintaining the conservation practices they’ve already implemented.”

Michigan has been allocated 48,339 acres for fiscal year 2018. Lee expects the state to use all of those acres. Michigan’s most popular eligible practices include cover crops, pollinator habitats and soil health enhancement.

Illinois has about 195,000 acres to enroll in the program, Gerth said. “This CSP signup is off the current farm bill and the acres are already allocated. Our goal is to allocate all of those acres. Last year, we funded every application. If we have enough applications that we run out of acreage, there’s typically an opportunity to request additional acres.”

Nationwide, there are more than 200 enhancements eligible for CSP, said Matt Hutchison, resource conservationist with the Kentucky NRCS office. That state’s producers will be able to make use of more than 100 of those. The most popular enhancements in Kentucky are pollinator and precision agriculture activities.

“NRCS offices in each state evaluate which practices might work best in their states,” he noted. “We’re supposed to offer as many as possible. State NRCS offices determine if activities are feasible for their states.”

Kentucky has more than 56,000 acres for the program. “CSP locks in the level of conservation where you’re at and pays you to go above and beyond,” Hutchison explained. “It encourages them to take the next step.”

Farmers interested in the program should contact their local NRCS office, said Jill Reinhart, acting state conservationist in Indiana. “They should go in and meet with the district conservationist and talk about eligibility. If you are already doing some conservation practices on your land, it’s a great opportunity to see how you can take some additional steps to get a farm bill payment.”

Indiana will have 86,853 acres for the program. The state’s most popular enhancements include integrated pest management, nutrient management, cover crops and residue and tillage management, said Jerry Roach, assistant state conservationist for programs.

“The CSP and efforts related to that fall right into what NRCS is trying to do with conservation planning,” he said. When evaluating an application, “NRCS looks at such things as water quality, soil erosion, soil quality and the impact to animals and plants.”

For more information, go online to www.nrcs.usda.gov/csp