Acting Deputy Agriculture Secretary Michael Young has announced that the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is offering contract renewal sign-ups for the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). NRCS made several updates to the program last fall to help producers evaluate the benefits of conservation options on their land.

“The changes made to CSP are providing even greater opportunities for stewardship-minded producers across the country to participate and bring their conservation efforts to a higher level,” said Young. “The new tools and methods for evaluating operations, expanded options to address the producer’s conservation and business objectives, and the focus on local resource priorities have resulted in a 30 percent increase in applications for this widely popular program.”

Participants with existing CSP contracts that will expire on Dec. 31 can access the benefits of the recent program changes through an option to renew their contracts for an additional five years if they agree to adopt additional activities to achieve higher levels of conservation on their lands. Applications to renew expiring contracts are due by May 5.