CSP funding for climate-smart agriculture

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Illinois State Conservationist Tammy Willis announced a statewide funding opportunity for the Conservation Stewardship Program funded by the Inflation Reduction Act.

The submission deadline for CSP-IRA applications to be considered in fiscal year 2025 is Jan. 10.

IRA funding provided an additional $3.25 billion nationwide over five years for climate-smart agriculture through CSP. Through the additional CSP-IRA funding, Illinois received $29.8 million in fiscal year 2025 to provide direct climate mitigation benefits to Illinois producers.

The CSP-IRA funds will advance conservation on producer’s farm or forest land through practices and enhancements such as cover crop, conservation tillage, wildlife habitat planting, prescribed grazing, nutrient management, tree planting and more.

How To Apply

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service accepts producer applications for its conservation programs on a continuous basis.

However, producers interested in CSP financial assistance through IRA should apply by Illinois’ application deadline to be considered for funding in the current cycle.

Producers interested in CSP-IRA should submit a signed application, NRCS-CPA-1200 form, to the local NRCS field office. A blank NRCS-CPA-1200 application form may be obtained from the NRCS staff.

Producers wishing to use Farmers.gov to submit an application can sign in or create an account by clicking on “sign up” on the website.

CSP-IRA applications submitted by Jan. 10 will be evaluated by local NRCS staff. The NRCS staff will work with an applicant to assess the land and resource concerns, answer ranking questions and determine program eligibility.

If an application is ranked high enough to be funded, the NRCS staff will work with the applicant to develop a contract.