June 11 is end of next CSP ranking period

Agri News

Thursday, May 27, 2010
http://www.agrinews.com/june/11/is/end/of/next/csp/ranking/period/story-2606.html

June 11 is end of next CSP ranking period

By Janet Kubat Willette
Agri News staff writer
jkubat@agrinews.com

LE SUEUR, Minn. — Farmers interested in enrolling in the Conservation Stewardship Program need to sign up at their Natural Resources Conservation Service office prior to June 11.

The Conservation Stewardship Program was created in the 2008 farm bill. It rewards farmers for conservation they've done and encourages more on working crop land, pasture land and forest land.

Tom Nuessmeier, who farms with his brother, Tim, and his parents, Carl and Elaine, in Le Sueur County, signed a contract enrolling 190 acres of cropland in the CSP in January.

Nuessmeier, a member of the Land Stewardship Project, participated in a Washington, D.C., fly-in to lobby in favor of the Conservation Stewardship Program in 2009. LSP was one of several Sustainable Agriculture Coalition groups lobbying at the time of his visit, he said.

He talked to NRCS staff, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and members of Minnesota's Congressional delegation.

When the pilot signup was announced, he attended an NRCS-LSP joint meeting near New Ulm and did some online research to answer his questions. He also met with Le Sueur County NRCS district conservationist Steve Breaker several times.

He and Breaker spent about 45 minutes in Breaker's office filling out the Conservation Managment Tool online.

"I didn't think it was that difficult," Nuessmeier said.

The Conservation Management Tool looks at land uses, what types of crops are grown, herbicides used in controlling weeds and pests, fertilizers used, opportunities and areas for wildlife and an overview of all the conservation work that's been done on the farm, said Paul Flynn, Minnesota Natural Resources Conservation Service state resource conservationist.

The CSP signup process begins with a land operator or landowner expressing interest in the program, Flynn said. Next, the land to be included on the contract is identified. Thirdly, the Conservation Management Tool is filled out.

Then, landowners wait to see if they have a successful application, Flynn said.

The payment rate per point is determined nationally, with the rate for cropland set at 3.5 cents per acre. The average cropland payments range from $20 to $30 per acre.

An individual's payment rate is determined by mulitiplying the USDA payment rate per point by the number of points awarded in the Conservation Measurement Tool by the number of acres enrolled, Flynn said. The first payments for contracts signed in January will be in October or November, he said.

A landowner can't be paid for land already enrolled in another program, says the Conservation Reserve Program.

The plan for this ranking period is to have contracts signed by the end of September, Flynn said. Contracts will run for five years. The Conservation Stewardship Program is authorized until 2017.

Nuessmeier said their CSP contract gives him government support to stretch his rotation. There's always cost involved in trying something new and different.

Nuessmeier will add a winter crop to his rotation.

"I think this is a good direction for farm, getting a little diversity back into the picture, that's a personal opinion," Nuessmeier said.

He's also working on his Integrated Pest Management Plan, where he will document and measure pest problems on the family's farmland.

His father was always looking ahead when he was the primary land operator, Nuessmeier said. Now, with the CSP, he and his brother are looking forward over the longer term to what will not only benefit them, but also what's beyond them.

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