{"id":60194,"date":"2025-04-11T12:02:16","date_gmt":"2025-04-11T16:02:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sustainableagriculture.net\/?p=60194"},"modified":"2025-04-11T12:02:19","modified_gmt":"2025-04-11T16:02:19","slug":"newly-updated-farmers-guide-to-the-conservation-stewardship-program-available","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sustainableagriculture.net\/blog\/newly-updated-farmers-guide-to-the-conservation-stewardship-program-available\/","title":{"rendered":"Newly Updated Farmers\u2019 Guide to the Conservation Stewardship Program Available"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/sustainableagriculture.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/cover-crops-and-soil-health-principles-in-TN-photo-credit-Lance-Cheung-at-USDA-1-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-53673\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sustainableagriculture.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/cover-crops-and-soil-health-principles-in-TN-photo-credit-Lance-Cheung-at-USDA-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/sustainableagriculture.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/cover-crops-and-soil-health-principles-in-TN-photo-credit-Lance-Cheung-at-USDA-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sustainableagriculture.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/cover-crops-and-soil-health-principles-in-TN-photo-credit-Lance-Cheung-at-USDA-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sustainableagriculture.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/cover-crops-and-soil-health-principles-in-TN-photo-credit-Lance-Cheung-at-USDA-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/sustainableagriculture.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/cover-crops-and-soil-health-principles-in-TN-photo-credit-Lance-Cheung-at-USDA-1-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Photo credit: USDA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>NSAC has published an updated <a href=\"https:\/\/sustainableagriculture.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/CSP-2025-FINAL.pdf\">2025 Farmers\u2019 Guide to the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP)<\/a>. The guide provides an in-depth look at the program and is designed to help farmers, ranchers, and foresters prepare and apply for this comprehensive conservation program that is authorized by the federal farm bill and administered by the US Department of Agriculture\u2019s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What is CSP?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/sustainableagriculture.net\/blog\/release-nsac-publication-analyzes-conservation-stewardship-program-data-since-the-2018-farm-bill\/\">Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) is the nation\u2019s largest conservation program<\/a>. It is a voluntary program that pays farmers and ranchers for the conservation they already do on their farms and for implementing new practices to help care for the soil, water, air, and wildlife. CSP contracts last five years and pay farmers an annual payment that covers their existing conservation practices and any new practices they implement as part of their contract.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While some USDA programs continue to experience difficulties related to the <a href=\"https:\/\/sustainableagriculture.net\/blog\/farmers-speak-out-on-the-devastating-impact-of-usda-funding-freeze\/\">ongoing funding freeze<\/a> created by the Administration\u2019s Executive Orders, CSP continues to provide support for farmers via Farm Bill funding. <strong>NRCS is able to sign new contracts with farmers right now<\/strong>, though as <a href=\"https:\/\/sustainableagriculture.net\/blog\/usda-staffing-cuts-hurt-farmers-and-rural-communities\/\">USDA continues to experience across the board staffing reductions<\/a>, producers seeking support through <strong>all<\/strong> conservation programs should anticipate longer-than-average delays in service and plan accordingly. NSAC strongly encourages producers dissatisfied with these new and unnecessary administrative delays to share concerns with their members of Congress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What\u2019s New in the Guide?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>This updated guide walks farmers and ranchers through some important updates to CSP in 2024, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Increased minimum payments:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The minimum annual payment that farmers receive has been increased significantly from $1,500 to $4,000. This provides more meaningful support for smaller farms, guaranteeing that operations with fewer acres receive material benefit for their conservation efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>New calculations for Existing Activity Payments:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>CSP is unique in that it includes an annual payment for farmers already addressing resource concerns within their operations through ongoing conservation efforts. The formula to calculate those Existing Activity Payments has been changed, meaning that farms enrolling in new contracts going forward will receive a slightly larger payment under this updated formula to support the conservation practices they already use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Faster approval with Act Now:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>CSP applications can now be fast-tracked through the Act Now process that pre-approves applications that meet a minimum ranking score. Farmers do not need to apply separately for Act Now: if their application meets the minimum score, it is automatically considered for pre-approval.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Updates to Payments<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>CSP payments come in two parts: Existing Activity Payments that pay farmers for the conservation they already have in place and Additional Activity Payments that pay farmers for the new conservation they implement as part of their contracts. For contracts beginning in 2024 onwards, the formula for Existing Activity Payments has changed.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the new formula, farmers get a per acre payment based on the land use. The per acre rate varies by land use and the number of resource concerns that already exceed the stewardship threshold (the minimum level of conservation performance that a farm or ranch must achieve to address specific natural resource concerns, which your NRCS agent will help to determine) when a farmer applies. Land use payment rates offered for FY24 contracts and beyond are:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com\/docsz\/AD_4nXeLPf_4NZ0ubMZR01ISX7rqXWLa7msNX75C5kS5yO1anUIJtfMui1StlzJ2qWNe1--lXJLNRA5-ZTxzKgThqFHVUouLnNeXPo6Vhbhxh0pWYiMZ9zye8K3QgxeJf0Oq9u4UiOh0?key=pTWB2RrRxB5sL2WY_QX7hxjD\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Payment Example<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>To illustrate how the new EAP formula works, NSAC calculated a payment for a hypothetical farm. The example is a farm with 200 acres, 150 acres in cropland, and 50 acres in pasture. It is assumed that on the cropland acres, there are strong conservation practices in place that exceed the stewardship threshold (the minimum level of conservation performance that a farm or ranch must achieve to address specific natural resource concerns, which an NRCS agent will help to determine) for 5 resource concerns. On the pastured acres, it is assumed that the farm exceeds the stewardship threshold for 3 resource concerns.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This farm would also receive $1,800 annual payments (it would be $3,000 if they were a renewing contract) for either of the two land uses where they decide to implement new conservation practices as part of their contract. They are ambitious and plan to implement new conservation on both their cropland and their pasture, for a total of $3,600 of additional annual payments.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>This farm\u2019s annual Existing Activity Payment would be a total of $4,800<\/em><\/strong>. Under the old payment model, this farm would have received $4,214, so the new formula means that they will be paid $2,930 more over the course of their contract.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com\/docsz\/AD_4nXdYwiR15fBVgnTjbIzUfzxPZIPij63vgrRd37HqvafRgjgcoQziUJh-Rh2X3qylhFapn2a2IH56mMWCCSOzJIcBG85MQD-xCIf_TD4puz9afNxA56SDEXzJpTOYE13pvV6SMZZ8Bw?key=pTWB2RrRxB5sL2WY_QX7hxjD\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Finally, this farm would also receive payments to cover a portion of the cost of the new conservation practices they implement. While the previous two payments will stay the same for all five years of a contract (barring any major modifications), the payments for new activities will vary each year based on the schedule for implementing those practices.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Using these payment calculations, farms will receive anywhere from the minimum annual payment of $4,000 per year up to a maximum of approximately $40,000 per year for the length of their contract.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Check Out the Updated Guide<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/sustainableagriculture.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/CSP-2025-FINAL.pdf\">2025 Farmers\u2019 Guide to the Conservation Stewardship Program<\/a> walks farmers and ranchers through the program from interest, to application, to contract payments and monitoring. It shares stories of farmers who have had successful CSP contracts and the types of conservation that CSP can support. The guide contains more information about how and why to apply for a CSP contract.&nbsp; See NSAC\u2019s recent report, <a href=\"https:\/\/sustainableagriculture.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Stewarding-Success-CSP-Under-the-2018-Farm-Bill-September-2024.pdf\">Stewarding Success<\/a>, to read about how CSP has performed under the 2018 Farm Bill.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This updated 2025 Farmers\u2019 Guide to the Conservation Stewardship Program was supported by the<a href=\"https:\/\/calclimateag.org\/\"> California Climate and Agriculture Network (CalCAN)<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NSAC has published an updated 2025 Farmers\u2019 Guide to the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). The guide provides an in-depth look at the program and is designed to help farmers, ranchers, and foresters prepare and apply for this comprehensive conservation program that is authorized by the federal farm bill and administered by the US Department of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":78,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[202,198,126],"tags":[29,52,1816,1132,132,1815,234],"class_list":{"0":"post-60194","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-carousel","7":"category-conservation-energy-environment","8":"category-grants-and-programs","9":"tag-conservation-stewardship-program","10":"tag-csp","11":"tag-csp-guide","12":"tag-farmers-guide-2","13":"tag-nrcs","14":"tag-nsac-publication","15":"tag-usda","16":"entry","17":"clb-missing-post-thumbnail"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Newly Updated Farmers\u2019 Guide to the Conservation Stewardship Program Available - National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"NSAC has published an updated 2025 Farmers\u2019 Guide to the Conservation Stewardship Program. The guide provides an in-depth look at the program and is designed to help farmers, ranchers, and foresters prepare and apply for this comprehensive conservation program that is authorized by the federal farm bill and administered by the USDA\u2019s Natural Resources Conservation Service.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sustainableagriculture.net\/blog\/newly-updated-farmers-guide-to-the-conservation-stewardship-program-available\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Newly Updated Farmers\u2019 Guide to the Conservation Stewardship Program Available\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"NSAC has published an updated 2025 Farmers\u2019 Guide to the Conservation Stewardship Program. The guide provides an in-depth look at the program and is designed to help farmers, ranchers, and foresters prepare and apply for this comprehensive conservation program that is authorized by the federal farm bill and administered by the USDA\u2019s Natural Resources Conservation Service.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sustainableagriculture.net\/blog\/newly-updated-farmers-guide-to-the-conservation-stewardship-program-available\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sustainableag\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-04-11T16:02:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-04-11T16:02:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sustainableagriculture.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/cover-crops-and-soil-health-principles-in-TN-photo-credit-Lance-Cheung-at-USDA-1-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Rebecca Schewe\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Newly Updated Farmers\u2019 Guide to the Conservation Stewardship Program Available\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"NSAC has published an updated 2025 Farmers\u2019 Guide to the Conservation Stewardship Program. The guide provides an in-depth look at the program and is designed to help farmers, ranchers, and foresters prepare and apply for this comprehensive conservation program that is authorized by the federal farm bill and administered by the USDA\u2019s Natural Resources Conservation Service.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@sustainableag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@sustainableag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Rebecca Schewe\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sustainableagriculture.net\\\/blog\\\/newly-updated-farmers-guide-to-the-conservation-stewardship-program-available\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sustainableagriculture.net\\\/blog\\\/newly-updated-farmers-guide-to-the-conservation-stewardship-program-available\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Rebecca Schewe\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sustainableagriculture.net\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/58a3d9f1c60733b7920de6df18cdf9b3\"},\"headline\":\"Newly Updated Farmers\u2019 Guide to the Conservation Stewardship Program Available\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-11T16:02:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-11T16:02:19+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sustainableagriculture.net\\\/blog\\\/newly-updated-farmers-guide-to-the-conservation-stewardship-program-available\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":941,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sustainableagriculture.net\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sustainableagriculture.net\\\/blog\\\/newly-updated-farmers-guide-to-the-conservation-stewardship-program-available\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sustainableagriculture.net\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/02\\\/cover-crops-and-soil-health-principles-in-TN-photo-credit-Lance-Cheung-at-USDA-1-1024x683.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Conservation Stewardship Program\",\"CSP\",\"CSP Guide\",\"Farmers Guide\",\"NRCS\",\"NSAC publication\",\"USDA\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Carousel\",\"Conservation, Energy &amp; Environment\",\"Grants and Programs\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/sustainableagriculture.net\\\/blog\\\/newly-updated-farmers-guide-to-the-conservation-stewardship-program-available\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sustainableagriculture.net\\\/blog\\\/newly-updated-farmers-guide-to-the-conservation-stewardship-program-available\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sustainableagriculture.net\\\/blog\\\/newly-updated-farmers-guide-to-the-conservation-stewardship-program-available\\\/\",\"name\":\"Newly Updated Farmers\u2019 Guide to the Conservation Stewardship Program Available - National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sustainableagriculture.net\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sustainableagriculture.net\\\/blog\\\/newly-updated-farmers-guide-to-the-conservation-stewardship-program-available\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sustainableagriculture.net\\\/blog\\\/newly-updated-farmers-guide-to-the-conservation-stewardship-program-available\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sustainableagriculture.net\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/02\\\/cover-crops-and-soil-health-principles-in-TN-photo-credit-Lance-Cheung-at-USDA-1-1024x683.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-11T16:02:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-11T16:02:19+00:00\",\"description\":\"NSAC has published an updated 2025 Farmers\u2019 Guide to the Conservation Stewardship Program. 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Cover Crop (Practice Code 340) Cover crop is growing a crop of grass, small grain, or legumes primarily for seasonal protection and soil improvement. This practice is used to control erosion, add fertility and organic material to the soil, improve soil tilth, increase infiltration and aeration of the soil, and improve overall soil health. The practice is also used to increase populations of bees for pollination purposes. Cover and green manure crops have beneficial effects on water quantity and quality. Cover crops have a filtering effect on movement of sediment, pathogens, and dissolved and sediment-attached pollutants. Soil Health Principles Charlie Roberts is utilizing the four basic soil health principles to improve soil health and sustainability on his farm: 1. Use plant diversity to increase diversity in the soil. 2. Manage soils more by disturbing them less. 3. Keep plants growing throughout the year to feed the soil. 4. Keep the soil covered as much as possible. NRCS has a proud history of supporting America\u2019s farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners. For more than 80 years, we have helped people make investments in their operations and local communities to keep working lands working, boost rural economies, increase the competitiveness of American agriculture, and improve the quality of our air, water, soil, and habitat. As the USDA\u2019s primary private lands conservation agency, we generate, manage, and share the data, technology, and standards that enable partners and policymakers to make decisions informed by objective, reliable science. And through one-on-one, personalized advice, we work voluntarily with producers and communities to find the best solutions to meet their unique conservation and business goals. By doing so, we help ensure the health of our natural resources and the long-term sustainability of American agriculture. Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) is the Department\u2019s focal point for the nation\u2019s farmers and ranchers and other stewards of private agricultural lands and non-industrial private forest lands. FPAC agencies implement programs designed to mitigate the significant risks of farming through crop insurance services, conservation programs, and technical assistance, and commodity, lending, and disaster programs. The agencies and services supporting FPAC are Farm Service Agency (FSA), NRCS, and Risk Management Agency (RMA). 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The guide provides an in-depth look at the program and is designed to help farmers, ranchers, and foresters prepare and apply for this comprehensive conservation program that is authorized by the federal farm bill and administered by the USDA\u2019s Natural Resources Conservation Service.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sustainableagriculture.net\/blog\/newly-updated-farmers-guide-to-the-conservation-stewardship-program-available\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sustainableagriculture.net\/blog\/newly-updated-farmers-guide-to-the-conservation-stewardship-program-available\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sustainableagriculture.net\/blog\/newly-updated-farmers-guide-to-the-conservation-stewardship-program-available\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/sustainableagriculture.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/cover-crops-and-soil-health-principles-in-TN-photo-credit-Lance-Cheung-at-USDA-1-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sustainableagriculture.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/cover-crops-and-soil-health-principles-in-TN-photo-credit-Lance-Cheung-at-USDA-1-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1707,"caption":"Charlie Roberts, owner of Roberts Farms focuses on utilizing conservation practices developed with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to utilizes cover crops to prevent sheet, rill, and ephemeral gullies; and implementing soil health principals that improve soil health of his land, in Lauderdale County, TN, on Sept 20, 2019. Cover Crop (Practice Code 340) Cover crop is growing a crop of grass, small grain, or legumes primarily for seasonal protection and soil improvement. This practice is used to control erosion, add fertility and organic material to the soil, improve soil tilth, increase infiltration and aeration of the soil, and improve overall soil health. The practice is also used to increase populations of bees for pollination purposes. Cover and green manure crops have beneficial effects on water quantity and quality. Cover crops have a filtering effect on movement of sediment, pathogens, and dissolved and sediment-attached pollutants. Soil Health Principles Charlie Roberts is utilizing the four basic soil health principles to improve soil health and sustainability on his farm: 1. Use plant diversity to increase diversity in the soil. 2. Manage soils more by disturbing them less. 3. Keep plants growing throughout the year to feed the soil. 4. Keep the soil covered as much as possible. NRCS has a proud history of supporting America\u2019s farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners. For more than 80 years, we have helped people make investments in their operations and local communities to keep working lands working, boost rural economies, increase the competitiveness of American agriculture, and improve the quality of our air, water, soil, and habitat. As the USDA\u2019s primary private lands conservation agency, we generate, manage, and share the data, technology, and standards that enable partners and policymakers to make decisions informed by objective, reliable science. And through one-on-one, personalized advice, we work voluntarily with producers and communities to find the best solutions to meet their unique conservation and business goals. By doing so, we help ensure the health of our natural resources and the long-term sustainability of American agriculture. Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) is the Department\u2019s focal point for the nation\u2019s farmers and ranchers and other stewards of private agricultural lands and non-industrial private forest lands. FPAC agencies implement programs designed to mitigate the significant risks of farming through crop insurance services, conservation programs, and technical assistance, and commodity, lending, and disaster programs. The agencies and services supporting FPAC are Farm Service Agency (FSA), NRCS, and Risk Management Agency (RMA). 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