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CONSERVATION STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM (CSP) ACREAGE ALLOCATION FOR MONTANA – SECOND HIGHEST NATIONALLY

August 18, 2009

For More Information:
Carrie Mosley, 406-587-6967

Bozeman--Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) officials today announced acreage allocations for each state for the new Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). The potential acreage allocation of agricultural land for Montana is 663,838 acres, the second largest allocation in the nation, ranking only behind the ag-land allocation for the state of Texas. Nonindustrial private forestland (NIPF) acreage allocation for Montana totals 17,477 acres.

State map showing CSP geographic areas listed as follows

See the Montana CSP Geographic Area Map for a larger map and list of counties within each CSP area.

Conservation Stewardship Land-Use Acreage Alocation by Area
Area Total Private Ag Lands Percent of Total Ag Lands State Ag Location Area Ag Allocation Total Forest Percent of Total Forest State NIPF Allocation Area NIPF Allocation
Eastern Montana Plains (Miles City) 20,024,878 37% 663,838 245,620 816,922 16% 17,477 2,796
Golden Triangle (Great Falls) 17,043,100 32% 663,838 212,428 739,850 15% 17,477 2,622
Mountain West (Missoula) 5,096,204 9% 663,838 59,745 1,715,626 35% 17,477 6,117
Yellowstone (Bozeman) 11,930,707 22% 663,838 146,044 1,666,868 34% 17,477 5,942
Total 54,094,889       4,939,266      

“This is exciting news for producers,” says Montana NRCS State Conservationist Joyce Swartzendruber. “This large acreage allocation provides a great opportunity for many Montana agricultural operators and nonindustrial private forestland operators to enhance conservation efforts through this extensive new program.” The CSP encourages agricultural and nonindustrial private forestland operators to enhance existing conservation activities and adopt additional new practices, taking advantage of NRCS’ technical advice and financial assistance. Applications for 2009 funding are being accepted until September 30, 2009.

For successful applicants, NRCS will make payments as soon as practical after October 1 of each fiscal year for contract activities carried out in the previous fiscal year. Participation requires a five-year contract. Initial analysis has shown that, under a strict set of assumptions, participants completing contract requirements might receive estimated payments in the range of:

  • Cropland - $12 to $22 per acre
  • Nonindustrial Private Forestland - $6 to $12 per acre
  • Pastureland - $7 to $14 per acre
  • Rangeland - $5 to $10 per acre
  • Estimated range for supplemental payments (Resource Conservation Crop Rotation) - $12 to $15 per acre

These ranges are based on projections about acreage enrollment and conservation performance and are only intended as estimates. Any individual payment level could fall outside these ranges based on the specific level of conservation performance on the operation. Each participant’s annual payment on a land use is dependent on a new conservation activity being scheduled and installed on that land use.

For complete information, visit your local NRCS field office or go to the NRCS Web site: www.nrcs.usda.gov/new_csp.

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