WASHINGTON, June 15, 2004—Natural Resources Conservation Service Chief Bruce
Knight today released a self-assessment workbook for potential participants in
the new Conservation Security Program (CSP), a voluntary program that supports
ongoing conservation stewardship of agricultural working lands and enhances the
condition of America’s natural resources.
“The workbook is significant because "self-assessment" is a new way of doing
business. Farmers and ranchers can assess their potential eligibility by
themselves on their own time at their convenience,” Knight said.
The initial self-assessment will help producers identify whether their
individual agricultural operation meets sign-up criteria and answer the
question, "Do I address minimum soil and water quality criteria on the land I
manage?” By going through the workbook, producers will get a good idea about
whether they are eligible for CSP at this time. Producers who may not be
eligible can find out about programs that can help them achieve a higher level
of conservation so that they may apply for CSP in the future.
To apply for the program, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will
ask potential participants to complete the self-assessment to determine if their
operations meet the standards of the program and qualify for program
participation. The self-assessment process is completed using a self-screening
questionnaire for each land use to be enrolled.
NRCS provides up-to-date technology, tools and resource information to meet the
conservation needs of the Nation’s producers. Soil quality assessment
information at http://soils.usda.gov/sqi/soil_quality/assessment/index.html
includes the Soil Conditioning Index, a tool used to predict the consequences of
cropping systems and tillage practices on the status of soil organic matter.
Water quality resources including a Manure Management Planner are at http://wmc.ar.nrcs.usda.gov/technical/wq.html.
On June 9, 2004, USDA announced that sign-up for the CSP will be available to
eligible farmers and ranchers in 18 watersheds across the nation July 6 to July
30. A sign-up notice detailing specific program requirements in the selected
watersheds will be published in the Federal Register soon.
The CSP self-assessment workbook is available in hardcopy or compact disk (CD)
from local NRCS offices within the 18 selected watersheds. It also is available
online at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/csp at an interactive site that
allows producers to log on and off at their convenience to complete the workbook
at their own pace.
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The Natural Resources
Conservation Service provides leadership in a partnership effort to help
people
conserve, maintain, and improve our natural resources and environment.
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