Implementing the Conservation Security Program: RS21740.

The Conservation Security Program (CSP) was authorized in the 2002 farm bill ('2001, P.L. 107-171), with no funding limits. In March 2004, the Congressional Budget Office estimated CSP would cost $8.9 billion from 2005 to 2014. CSP was limited to $6 billion from 2005 to 2014 in P.L. 108-324, with the $2.9 billion difference used to pay for agricultural disaster assistance. In FY2005 appropriations, CSP has been limited to $202.4 million as a one-year spending cap for FY2005 (H.R. 4818, Division A, Title VII, '749). On November 2, NRCS announced that farms located in 202 watersheds nationwide will be eligible for CSP in FY2005. See [http://www.nrcs.usda. gov/programs/csp/2005_CSP_WS/index.html] for a map of these watersheds. The FY2005 signup will be the second CSP signup. The first signup took place in July 2004. In August 2004, the Natural Resources Conservation Service announced it had awarded 2,188 CSP contracts to producers in 18 watersheds nationwide. The 2004 signup was controversial because NRCS instituted strict eligibility criteria for enrollment that were not included in the CSP authorization. NRCS contends it was forced to prioritize funds due to a $41.4 million FY2004 CSP funding limit imposed by Congress. Critics maintain that prioritizing funds is inconsistent with the CSP authorization. House and Senate Agriculture subcommittees held hearings on CSP in spring 2004. This paper will be updated as necessary. (For a full discussion of CSP as enacted, see CRS Report RS21739, The Conservation Security Program in the 2002 Farm Bill.) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]