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Deadline to comment on Conservation Stewardship Program is approaching

Growers have until January 13 to submit comments on the changes to the Conservation Stewardship Program.

Kevin Norton is the associate chief with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

“We’re in the comment period, but we’re going to begin to implement off that regulation,” he says. “It’s pretty exciting and we’ll have the new things that came through the farm bill available this coming year.”

Changes to the program include increasing payment rates for adoption of cover crop rotations, introducing a supplemental payment for advanced grazing management, creating one-time payment for developing a comprehensive conservation plan, and providing support for organic and transitioning to organic.

Norton says there has been an increase in demand in the program.

“We saw applications grow significantly in some of the Midwestern states,” he says. “So we’re seeing an increase in interest in these programs.”  

CSP is the nation’s largest conservation program in terms of participating land.