CONSERVATION STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM Fiscal Year 2009 Signup Training

1. CONSERVATION STEWARDSHIP PROGRAMFiscal Year 2009 Signup Training August 2009

2. Agenda • Program Design and Key Concepts • Allocations • Program Eligibility • Application Acceptance and Evaluation Process • Payments

3. Agenda - continued • Conservation Measurement Tool (CMT) Demo • Enhancement Activity Review • Resource Conserving Crop Rotation • Field Verification • Conservation Stewardship Plan Development • CMT/Toolkit/Program Contracts System (ProTracts)

4. Stewardship Purpose 2008 Food, Conservation, and Energy Act established a new program purpose • Encourage producers to address resource concerns in a comprehensive manner by: • Installing and adopting additional conservation activities • Improving, maintaining, and managing existing activities

5. Stewardship Policy A new program purpose brings • New Interim Final Rule • New Conservation Programs Manual, Part 508 • New Fund Code (95F and 95T)

6. Security Program Effect on Conservation Security Program • Prohibits new or renewed security contracts after September 30, 2008 • Provides funds as necessary to administer existing security contracts • Honors payment commitments

7. Stewardship Program Availability Broadens program availability • Available nationwide • Continuous sign-up with periodic cut-offs for ranking • Adds nonindustrial private forest land (NIPF) as eligible land

8. Decision-Making Shifts significant program decision-making to states • Allocate acres to states to manage • Focuses on resource concerns identified as a priority for a state or areas of a state • Competitively ranks peers within a state who face similar resource challenges

9. Acreage Limitation / Payment Constraint Developing a payment mechanism challenging within constraints: • Enroll 12,769,000 acres for each FY • Manage to achieve a national average rate of $18 per acre (includes financial assistance [FA] and technical assistance [TA])

10. Conservation Stewardship Program Allocations

11. National Allocation and Management • (1) The Chief will allocate acres to states, based primarily on each state’s proportion of eligible land to the total amount of eligible land in all states; and:

12. National Allocation and Management • (i) The extent and magnitude of the conservation needs associated with agricultural production in each state; • (ii) The degree to which implementation of the program in the state is, or will be, effective in helping producers address those needs; and • (iii) Other considerations determined by the Chief, to achieve equitable geographic distribution of program participation.

13. National Allocation and Management • (2) In any FY, acres allocated to a state that are not enrolled by a date determined by the Chief, may be reallocated with associated FA and TA funds to another state for use in that fiscal year.

14. State Allocations and Management • (1) The state conservationist (STC) will: • (i) Identify and establish, with advice from the Kansas Technical Committee (KTC) and local work groups, ranking pools that ensure that applicants will be ranked relative to other applicants who share similar resource challenges (refer to Title 440 – Conservation Programs Manual (CPM), Part 508, Section 508.72, for guidance on establishing ranking pools); and

15. State Allocations and Management • (ii) Allocate acres from the state’s allocation to each ranking pool based on the same factors from 440-CPM, Part 508, Section 508.61C(1)(i-iii), that the Chief considers in making allocations to states.

16. State Allocations and Management • (2) In any fiscal year, acres allocated to a ranking pool that are not enrolled by a date determined by the STC, may be reallocated within their state for use in that FY.

17. CSP Allocations Application Period No. 1 Ag – 541, 404 acres NIPF – 6,418 acres

18. Questions

19. Stewardship Program Eligibility

20. Program Eligibility - Objectives Identify eligibility requirements: • Applicant • Land • Stewardship Threshold Requirement

21. Program Eligibility - Applicant An applicant must: • Be the operator in the FSA farm records management system • Have documented control for contract term • Be compliant with • Highly erodible land conservation (HELC) and Wetland Conservation (WC) • adjusted gross income (AGI) • Supply information to determine eligibility

22. Program Eligibility - Applicant Operator in FSA records • Reports available include: • Form FSA-156EZ - Required • Form AD-1026A – Required • Producer Subsidiary Print - Optional

23. Program Eligibility - Applicant Documented Control: • Follow policy – Title 440 - CPM, Part 512, Section 512.22A “Who May be Eligible”

24. Program Eligibility - Applicant Document Land Operated and Not Under Control for Contract Term • The applicant must provide a written statement for associated tracts that are not under their control. • The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will file in the stewardship contract file.

25. Program Eligibility - Applicant Be in Compliance: • Follow policy – Title 440 - CPM, Part 512, Section 512.20C “Certifications Required” • Form AD-1026 HELC/WC certification • Form CCC-926 AGI certification • Forms CCC-901 or CCC-902, Member Information

26. Program Eligibility - Applicant Be in Compliance - continued: • CSP applicants should wait until after October 1, 2009 to certify eligibility for the current application period (August 10th – September 30th, 2009).

27. Program Eligibility - Land Land eligible for enrollment: • Private, working agricultural land • Cropland, Pastureland, and Rangeland • Agricultural Indian land • Cropland, Pastureland, and Rangeland • Nonindustrial private forest land (NIPF) • By special rule • No more than 10 percent of acres enrolled nationally/FY

28. Program Eligibility - Land Ineligible land: • Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), Conservation Security Program, Grassland Reserve Program (GRP), and Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) • Public land • Federal, state, or local

29. Program Eligibility - Land Ineligible land: • Land cropped after June 18, 2008, not planted, considered planted, or devoted to crop production four of six preceding years – unless: • Previously enrolled in CRP • Maintained using long-term rotations • Incidental land needed for efficient operation of farm

30. Program Eligibility - Land Ineligible land: • Other lands that are not working ag land or NIPF including: • Incidental areas not in ag production • Developed areas • Farm headquarters, ranch sites, barnyards, feedlots, manure storage facilities, machinery storage areas, material handling facilities

31. Program Eligibility - Land Agricultural Operation • Established based on how operator represents their operation for other USDA program participation

32. Program Eligibility - Land Agricultural Operation includes: • All eligible* and ineligible land (contiguous or non-contiguous) • Where applicant is operator in FSA record system • Under control of applicant for contract term • Operated substantially separate * - NIPF Component Exception

33. Program Eligibility - Land Entire Operation An application includes the eligible land in an operator’s entire operation

34. Program Eligibility - Land Entire Operation An operator with bonafide, substantially separate operations will submit a separate application per operation Program participation limits established by direct attribution to an individual

35. Program Eligibility - Land *NIPF Component Exception • NIPF competes separately from ag land • NIPF applicants submit a separate application for NIPF • If designated for funding, then NIPF component of operation is established separate and includes all NIPF • If not designated for funding, thenNIPF is not part of the agricultural operation

36. Program Eligibility – Stewardship Threshold Requirement Stewardship Threshold • Level of natural resource conservation required to conserve and improve the quality and condition of a natural resource • Land treatment eligibility requirement • Assessed on each eligible land use • Measured using the CMT

37. Program Eligibility – Stewardship Threshold Requirement The applicant must meet or exceed the stewardship threshold for at least: • One resource concern at the time of application; and • One priority resource concern – • At the time of application, or • By the end of the conservation stewardship contract.

38. Program Eligibility – Stewardship Threshold Requirement Seven Resource Concerns Plus Energy • Air Quality • Animals • Plants • Soil Erosion • Soil Quality • Water Quality • Water Quantity

39. Program Eligibility – Stewardship Threshold Requirement Stewardship Threshold Requirement • Determined by land use • Resource concerns and priority resource concern met could be different for different land use types • Example: Pastureland resource concern met – Soil Erosion Rangeland resource concern met – Water Quality Pastureland priority resource concern met - Animals Rangeland priority resource concern met - Plants

40. Program Eligibility – Stewardship Threshold Requirement Stewardship Threshold Requirement • Resource concern and priority resource concern met must be different for the same land use • That is - If the one resource concern met at application is a priority resource concern, then another priority resource concern must to be met by the end of the contract

41. Questions

42. Application Acceptance and Evaluation Process 42

43. Step # 1 Screening 43

44. Producer Self-Screening Checklist Is a screening questionnaire to assist producers independently identify if the program is right for them and their operation. completed by the producer without technical assistance Training Reference Material-Exhibit A 44

45. Will assist a producer to arrive at a preliminary conclusion as to whether the applicant, the land, and the conservation activities meet CSP eligibility requirements. available through producer information workshops, at NRCS field offices and electronically Producer Self-Screening Checklist 45

46. Step # 2 Determine Applicant and Land Eligibility 46

47. Application Process • Contract Program Application • Form NRCS-CPA-1200 • *Enter into ProTracts as FY 2010 • Supporting documents • Ag operation maps • Form AD-1026A • Form FSA-156EZ • Control of Land 47

48. Application Process • Map/Aerial photograph/overlay of agricultural and/or NIPF operation. • Identify Ag operation and /or NIPF component • delineate each eligible land use and associated acres. • cropland, pastureland, rangeland for agricultural land applications • NIPF for NIPF application 48

49. Application Process • Agricultural land applications will compete separately from NIPF applications. • Applicant with both will have: • One application for NIPF • One application for agricultural land (Two applications, one for each land type) 49

50. Determine Applicant and Land Eligibility Applicant Eligibility - ProTracts AGI, HELC, and WC and at least one farm associated with the applicant. Operator Control Land Eligibility- FSA farm management record system Private agricultural land Agricultural Indian lands Nonindustrial private forest land 50