Conservation Stewardship Program: What it Can Mean to You and Your Operation. 61 st Annual WLWCA Conference

Transcription

1 Conservation Stewardship Program: What it Can Mean to You and Your Operation 61 st Annual WLWCA Conference George Reistad Asst. Policy Director Michael Fields Agricultural Institute Presentation Pictures Courtesy of NRCS Photo Gallery 1

2 Presentation Outline History of CSP Conservation Security Program 2014 Farm Bill Funding Role of Michael Fields in CSP Benefits of Enrollment Cover Crops as an Enhancement Eric Allness (NRCS) 2

3 History of CSP The current Conservation Stewardship Program builds on the former Conservation Security Program Contracts through 2008 Can renew through Stewardship program once Security contract expires More streamlined No more waiting for your watershed to be selected for enrollment! Eligible farmers in all US states and territories can enroll on a continuous basis with ranking periods occurring throughout the year 3

4 History of CSP Updated No more enrollment tiers or complex payment formulas One annual payment over contract term Ranking and payment based off of conservation measurement tool score Measure environmental benefits of existing and proposed conservation practices Not mentioned in 2014 Farm Bill 4

5 History of CSP One of the premier conservation program in the nation Millions of dollars in mandatory spending annually Acreage cap by state To date ~46,000 farmer contracts nationwide Nearly 60 million acres enrolled Twice the area of Pennsylvania (NSAC website) 5

6 CSP in the 2014 Farm Bill Wins for conservation Still the largest conservation program by acreage Remains a comprehensive conservation program Supplementary assistance for resource conserving crop rotations Perennial grasses, legumes for forage, seed, and green manure, legume-grass mix, small grain grown with grass or legume green manure crop Comprehensive conservation planning language Bill losses Acreage cap decrease 12.8M 10M Complex ranking system 6

7 Role of Michael Fields Ag Institute MFAI, along with NSAC staff and member organizations, worked hard to remove the complexities and limitations from CSP in the 2008 and 2014 Farm Bill MFAI continues to do work surrounding CSP during ranking periods Widespread publicity/promotion throughout WI Workshops and field days to discuss the program Annual NRCS-DATCP CSP Awards 7

8 Benefits of Enrollment Financial rewards for existing conservation Incentivizes adopting additional practices Win-win for everyone involved The land is stewarded Operators are financially rewarded for their practices Sign-up periods Apply now It just makes sense! 8

9 Cover Crops as an Enhancement Cover crops are an available CSP enhancement Weed suppression and soil health PLT20 Non-chemical termination methods WQL17 9

10 Weed Suppression and Soil Health PLT20 10

11 Non-Chemical Termination Methods WQL17 11

12 Citations NSAC Homepage NRCS CSP Webpage /main/national/programs/financial/csp/ 12

13 Helpful Resources and Events WI Cover Crops Conference March Kalahari Resorts WI Dells Registration still open Farmer s Guide to the Conservation Stewardship Program Farmers-Guide-to-CSP-2011.pdf 13

14 Mission Statement The Michael Fields Agricultural Institute is a non-profit organization with the mission to nurture the ecological, social and economic resiliency of food and farming systems through education, research, policy, and market development. We envision an ever-creative cultural process in which farmers and consumers create agricultural landscapes with healthy regional systems of land use, food production and distribution. Since our founding in 1984, we have worked to realize this vision. Celebrate our 30 th Anniversary with us! Like us on Facebook and sign up for our monthly E-newsletter for updates! 14