Benchmark condition inventory – good because it provides NRCS and land owner with a way to evaluate

September 7, 2005 Financial Assistance Programs Division Natural Resources Conservation Service P.O. Box 2890 Washington, DC 20013-2890 COMMENT ON THE AMENDED INTERIM FINAL RULE FOR THE CONSERVATION SECURITY PROGRAM Please find below American Farmland Trust’s comments on the Amended Interim Final Rule for the Conservation Security Program (CSP) published in the Federal Register on March 25, 2005 by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). American Farmland Trust (AFT) is a national conservation organization working across the country to save the land that sustains us. Established in 1980, we are the only national nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting the best farm and ranch land, planning for growth with agriculture in mind and keeping the land productive and healthy. The CSP is the nation’s first comprehensive stewardship incentive program for farmers and ranchers, and we believe that this type of program should become a central component of future U.S. farm policy. In order for it to do so, however, the NRCS must implement the program in a manner that is national in scope, financially attractive to producers and predictable. In our comments on the original interim final rule, we recommended that the NRCS reject the proposed watershed approach, provide the maximum payment levels authorized by the statute and make the program more accessible to farmers and ranchers. Unfortunately, the agency did not include ...