An Introduction to the Conservation Security Act

After more than a decade of discussion, the United States ­ for the first time ­ now has a green payment program: The Conservation Security Program, which was included in the 2002 Farm Bill. This innovative vehicle for rewarding conservation on working lands is a bright spot for sustainable agriculture in the much-maligned new Farm Bill.

For many NPSAS members, the Conservation Security Program could add a little financial security to your operations because it rewards those who have been doing what's right all along (while helping them get even further toward their conservation goals).

If you practice or want to improve your practices in any of the following areas, you'll want to start watching the program as the details unfold:

• nutrient, pest, soil conservation and residue management
• irrigation water conservation and water quality management
• plant and animal germplasm conservation
• grazing, pasture, and rangeland management
• rotational grazing
• resource-conserving crop rotations
• filter strips, riparian buffers, windbreaks, and contour bufferstrips
• and many other practices.

The program requires voluntary, flexible, site-specific conservation plans. Farmers are not required to retire land from production, and may choose a level of involvement based on the specific resources identified for their farms and their own stewardship goals.

The program has entitlement status, putting it on a par with commodity programs in terms of funding status. All eligible participants with approved plans can enroll without budget caps, waiting lists, and backlogs common to other programs. CSP is open to all producers and all types of agricultural lands.

The Conservation Security Program will provide annual payments to farmers based on the number of conservation practices included. The greatest financial incentives are to producers who implement whole farm planning.

Base formula payments are set at 5, 10, and 15 percent (there are three tiers for participation) of a national average rate, which can be rental rates for specific land uses or some other rate to be determined by USDA, times the number of acres enrolled. The payment limits by tier are $20,000, $35,000 and $45,000.

Payment is also made for cost-share (75 percent, 90 percent for beginning farmers). Bonus, or enhanced, payments also will be available for on-farm monitoring and evaluation, and other practices.

The devil is in the details, of course. And many of these are being worked on right now by the Midwest Sustainable Agriculture Working Group and many other groups who have championed this program for sustainable agriculture. Crucial decisions will be made in the Natural Resources Conservation Services' State Technical Committees. (NPSAS Board Member, Duane Boehm serves on the North Dakota State Technical Committee.)

The best place for more information on the Conservation Security Program is the Minnesota Project's website: www.mnproject.org. Or contact Teresa Opheim at the Midwest Sustainable Agriculture Working Group: msawg@aol.com or 515/270-2634.

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