Conservation Stewardship Program (10.924)
Conservation Stewardship Program (Assistance Listing 10.924) is run by the Natural Resources Conservation Service, part of the Department of Agriculture. It awarded $155 million in 140 grants from fiscal 2021 to 2025, about $1.1 million per award on average. No funding opportunity is open on Grants.gov right now.
The typical award was $301,123. Half of the 140 awards fell between $153,040 and $524,670, and they ranged from $8,000 to $59.1 million.
- Awarded, FY 2021 to 2025$155 million
- Grant awards140
- Typical award$301,123
- Awarded in FY 2025$2.8 million
- Size rank678 of 1824
- Type of assistanceCooperative agreements
Key findings
- Annual funding fell from $13.5 million in fiscal 2021 to $2.8 million in fiscal 2025.
- It is the 678th largest of 1,824 federal grant programs by five-year awards.
- The 20 largest recipients received 88% of the money.
- Awards went to recipients in 35 states and territories.
What the program funds
Through CSP, NRCS provides financial and technical assistance to eligible producers to conserve and enhance soil, water, air, and related natural resources on their land. Eligible lands include cropland, grassland, prairie land, pastureland, rangeland, nonindustrial private forest lands, agricultural land under the jurisdiction of an Indian tribe, and other private agricultural land (including cropped woodland, marshes, and agricultural land used for the production of livestock) on which resource concerns related to agricultural production could be addressed. Participation in the program is voluntary. CSP encourages land stewards to improve their conservation performance by installing and adopting additional activities, and improving, maintaining, and managing existing activities on agricultural land and nonindustrial private forest land. The NRCS will make CSP available nationwide on a continuous application basis.
Open opportunities
No opportunity under this program is open or forecast on Grants.gov right now. Programs often post once a year, so the funding history below shows what to expect.
Rules from the program listing
Who can apply
The program provides equitable access to all producers, regardless of operation size, crops produced, or geographic location. Individual producers, legal entities, corporations, and Indian Tribes may be eligible for the program. Eligible lands include cropland, grassland, prairie land, pastureland, rangeland, nonindustrial private forest land, and agricultural land under the jurisdiction of an Indian tribe. Applicants must have documented control of the land for the term of the proposed contract and include the eligible land in their entire operation as represented for other USDA programs. The applicant’s operation must also meet a stewardship threshold.
What the money can and cannot pay for
Technical assistance is provided for conservation planning, design and implementation of conservation enhancements and practices for eligible participants. Financial assistance is provided for implementation of structural, vegetative and land management enhancements and practices. Payments may be made to implement one or more eligible structural, vegetative, and land management conservation enhancements and practices.
Matching requirements
Statutory Formula: Title 7, Part 1466, Subpart B,Public Law 115-334.No additional information.Matching requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.
Deadlines
Contact the headquarters or regional location, as appropriate for application deadlines Continuous enrollment. Periodic ranking cut-off dates posted on Agency website.
Award range and average, in the agency's words
CSP payments to a person or legal entity may not exceed $200,000 for contracts entered into during FY 2019 through FY 2024. Each CSP contract is limited to $200,000 over the term of the initial contract period. The above limitations exclude funding arrangements with federally recognized Indian tribes or Alaska Native corporations as described in 7 CFR part 1470+. Average contract obligation in FY 2024 is approx. $29,000.
Funding history and past recipients
From fiscal 2021 to 2025, Conservation Stewardship Program (10.924) awarded$155 million across 140 grant awards, an average of $1.1 million per award.
Who usually wins
Nonprofits received 80% of the money, colleges and universities 14% and state and local governments 4.3%.
| Recipient type | Awards | Amount | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nonprofits | 74 | $124 million | 80% |
| Colleges and universities | 37 | $21.1 million | 14% |
| State and local governments | 18 | $6.7 million | 4.3% |
| Tribal governments and organizations | 4 | $1.6 million | 1.1% |
| Small businesses | 5 | $1.6 million | 1.0% |
| Businesses | 1 | $109,805 | less than 0.1% |
By state
15 states have a page for this program: those that received at least $1 million or 10 awards.
| State | Awards | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | 3 | $60.1 million |
| Minnesota | 10 | $36.1 million |
| Virginia | 21 | $13.6 million |
| Kansas | 9 | $7.5 million |
| Texas | 5 | $6.4 million |
| South Dakota | 14 | $4.0 million |
| Tennessee | 3 | $3.6 million |
| Wisconsin | 7 | $3.6 million |
| Oregon | 3 | $3.0 million |
| Pennsylvania | 2 | $2.4 million |
| Nebraska | 3 | $2.4 million |
| Mississippi | 12 | $1.8 million |
| North Dakota | 7 | $1.5 million |
| South Carolina | 4 | $1.5 million |
| California | 3 | $1.4 million |
| Louisiana | 3 | $874,994 |
| Florida | 1 | $800,000 |
| Wyoming | 1 | $600,000 |
| Puerto Rico | 2 | $584,043 |
| Guam | 1 | $565,052 |
| Michigan | 2 | $554,538 |
| Utah | 1 | $500,000 |
| Kentucky | 1 | $400,000 |
| Arkansas | 2 | $395,277 |
| Maryland | 4 | $367,652 |
| Missouri | 1 | $337,177 |
| Idaho | 1 | $246,618 |
| Montana | 1 | $245,564 |
| North Carolina | 2 | $242,525 |
| Arizona | 1 | $227,852 |
| Alabama | 1 | $200,000 |
| Iowa | 1 | $199,980 |
| Oklahoma | 5 | $193,400 |
| Colorado | 2 | $95,167 |
| Indiana | 1 | $17,712 |