A bill to fund the federal government for the remaining six months of fiscal year 2013 is now awaiting the president’s signature.

The House of Representatives passed the government funding bill recently by a vote of 318-109. Senate passage occurred with a 73-26 vote.

The final bill removes all remaining obstacles to farmers and ranchers having the opportunity to enroll this year in the Conservation Stewardship Program.

USDA can now proceed with enrolling approximately 12 million acres of agricultural land in the program this year, an amount that will bring the program to a grand total of 62 million acres by year’s end.

Applying

Once the president signs the bill, USDA will receive the go ahead from the Office of Management and Budget to begin the enrollment process.

USDA has not yet decided what the deadline for farmer applications will be, but interested farmers can apply at any time and should check with their local Natural Resource Conservation Service office for further information.

What Is It?

CSP is a working lands conservation program that rewards farmers and ranchers for the environmental benefits they produce. It is available on a nationwide basis.

CSP offers technical and financial assistance to farmers and ranchers for adopting and maintaining high standards of resource conservation and environmental stewardship. Assistance is provided for actively managing and improving existing conservation systems and for implementing new conservation activities on land in agricultural production.

In the program’s first four enrollment years (2009-2012), NRCS has enrolled nearly 39,000 farmers and ranchers operating 50 million acres of farm and ranch land that is now under five-year, renewable CSP conservation contracts worth $3.3 billion.

Eligibility

The enrollment process is competitive, based on conservation and environmental benefits. Eligible lands include cropland, grassland, prairie land, improved pastureland, rangeland, non-industrial private forest lands, and agricultural land under tribal jurisdiction.

Applicants must demonstrate they have effective control over these lands to be eligible, either through ownership or reasonably secure leases.