Let Farmers Fly › Federal › NRCS Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP)
NRCS Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP)
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service: Annual payments under a five-year contract, with a $4,000 minimum payment in most years; Washington, Oregon and Idaho enhancement rates were not retrieved. Same state ranking cutoffs as EQIP.
Verified Oct 14, 2026 against nrcs.usda.gov · Report a change
What it pays
$4,000
Annual payments under a five-year contract, with a $4,000 minimum payment in most years; Washington, Oregon and Idaho enhancement rates were not retrieved.
You pay first
No down payment
None; payments are annual.
Buy before approval?
No
Contract first; enhancements count only under an active contract.
Drones
Pays for the practice, not the drone
Enhancement E595B names drones as a monitoring tool; the payment is per acre for the practice, not for the aircraft.
Who can apply
Producers who already meet a stewardship threshold on the whole operation and add enhancements.
What it covers
Enhancements paid per acre; E595A covers precision guidance, variable rate and smart-sprayer techniques, E595B covers IPM monitoring that may use drones or other remote sensing. · not confirmed
Drones: ask the agency before you count on it
Enhancement E595B names drones as a monitoring tool; the payment is per acre for the practice, not for the aircraft.
What that means for you: the payment is for the practice or the service, not for owning the aircraft. A drone can be the delivery method only if the agency's planner accepts it.
Question to send USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (copy and edit)
"I farm [acres, crop] in [county]. Would a [make, model] agricultural drone used for [spot spraying / variable-rate fertilizer / cover-crop seeding] be considered eligible under NRCS Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), and what would you need from me to decide?"
Money and timing
Annual payments under a five-year contract, with a $4,000 minimum payment in most years; Washington, Oregon and Idaho enhancement rates were not retrieved. None; payments are annual.
| Item | What the record says |
|---|---|
| Opens | Year-round sign-up. |
| Deadline | Same cutoffs as EQIP (Washington December 18, 2026; Oregon November 13, 2026). |
| When money arrives | Annual payment each contract year. |
| Repayment | Not a loan; nothing to repay. |
| Equipment origin rules | Silent on UAS. · not confirmed |
Same state ranking cutoffs as EQIP.
Paperwork
Conservation plan and stewardship self-assessment with your local planner. · not confirmed
Still open
- Enhancement payment rates for E595A and E595B in Washington, Oregon and Idaho.
Where this comes from
Every quoted line below was copied from the official page the research harness captured, and checked again against that capture when this site was built. Lines marked "not confirmed" elsewhere on this page have no quote yet.
| Fact | Official wording | Source | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Program name | Conservation Stewardship Program | nrcs.usda.gov · capture 273 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| Agency | Natural Resources Conservation Service | nrcs.usda.gov · capture 273 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| Kind of help | CSP offers annual payments for implementing these practices on your land | nrcs.usda.gov · capture 273 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| Kind of help | CSP contracts are for five years | nrcs.usda.gov · capture 273 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| Who can apply | based on the land uses included in the contract and an NRCS assessment of existing stewardship at the time of enrollment | nrcs.usda.gov · capture 273 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| Who can apply | Payments to implement additional conservation activities. | nrcs.usda.gov · capture 273 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| Status | Applications for NRCS conservation programs are accepted on a continuous basis. | nrcs.usda.gov · capture 273 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| Status | Washington ACEP/CSP/EQIP - Friday, December 18, 2026 | nrcs.usda.gov · capture 269 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| Opens | Applications for NRCS conservation programs are accepted on a continuous basis. | nrcs.usda.gov · capture 273 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| Deadline | Washington ACEP/CSP/EQIP - Friday, December 18, 2026 | nrcs.usda.gov · capture 269 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| Deadline | Oregon ACEP/CSP/EQIP - Friday, Nov. 13, 2026 | nrcs.usda.gov · capture 269 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| What it pays | CSP contracts are for five years | nrcs.usda.gov · capture 273 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| What it pays | Most participants will be eligible for a $4000 minimum payment during any year that their total annual contract payment falls below the minimum payment amount. | nrcs.usda.gov · capture 273 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| You pay first | CSP offers annual payments for implementing these practices on your land | nrcs.usda.gov · capture 273 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| Repayment | CSP offers annual payments for implementing these practices on your land | nrcs.usda.gov · capture 273 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| Drones | Monitoring may include the use of drones, or other remote sensing tools | nrcs.usda.gov · capture 288 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| Buy before approval? | Once you sign the contract, you'll be provided standards and specifications for completing the practice or practices | nrcs.usda.gov · capture 273 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| When money arrives | CSP offers annual payments for implementing these practices on your land | nrcs.usda.gov · capture 273 | Oct 14, 2026 |
| Official page | Conservation Stewardship Program | nrcs.usda.gov · capture 273 | Oct 14, 2026 |
Record nrcs-csp v2, approved; automatic checks run Oct 15, 2026.
Ask about this program
Answers come only from the verified program records on this site. Every answer shows the agency's own words and the date we checked them. When the records don't say, it tells you to ask USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Not live yet: the assistant is being built. Until then, use the program pages and the contact on each one.