CONSERVATION SECURITY PROGRAM SIGN-UP ANNOUNCED

Sign-Up Begins April 18 in the Sandusky Watershed
 

Contact: Christina Coulon, 614-255-2471

COLUMBUS, March 21, 2008 – State Conservationist Terry Cosby announced a sign-up for the Conservation Security Program (CSP) that will be available to approximately 3,300 potentially eligible farms in the Sandusky Watershed covering 11 north central Ohio counties, including portions of Crawford, Erie, Hardin, Huron, Marion, Ottawa, Richland, Sandusky, Seneca, Wood, and Wyandot Counties.

The CSP sign-up is open in the Sandusky Watershed from April 18 to May 16. The sign-up announcement and specific program requirements are being published in the Federal Register. The Conservation Security Program is authorized in the 2002 Farm Bill and administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

CSP is a voluntary conservation program that supports ongoing stewardship of private, agricultural working lands and rewards those producers who are meeting the highest standards of conservation and environmental management on their operations.

Payments can include three components: 1) an annual stewardship component for the base level of conservation treatment, 2) an annual component for maintenance of existing conservation practices, and 3) an enhancement component for exceptional conservation effort. Enhancement activities could include limited pesticide applications, renewable energy generation, and widening existing riparian forest buffers for restoring critical stream habitat.

Meetings were held in various locations throughout the Sandusky Watershed in February and March to begin preparing farmers for CSP. Cosby explains, “If you missed the meeting in your area, you can still call your local NRCS office for information to assist you in determining your eligibility for CSP.”

A self-assessment workbook - available on the Web or from your local NRCS Office – must be completed prior to application to determine if the farm operation meets the requirements of the program and qualifies for program participation. When the self-assessment is completed, the producer submits the CSP workbook to NRCS during the sign-up period and meets with NRCS personnel. NRCS will then determine if eligibility requirements are met and provide options for the producer’s decision on enrollment category placement.

NRCS held the first CSP sign-up in 2004. In Ohio, CSP sign-ups have been held in 10 watersheds bringing more than $38.7 million to Ohio’s farmers. Additional information on CSP, including eligible watersheds and a CSP self-assessment workbook, is available at http://www.oh.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/csp_2/csp_home_2008.html

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