CSP Application Ranking

Deadline: May 01, 2026. NRCS CSP application ranking period. Check your state NRCS for exact dates.

Worth your time? If you're already doing conservation work and want cost-share funding to expand it, CSP can work—but it's competitive and timing matters. Your application gets ranked against others, so quality and environmental impact are key. Confirm your state's ranking schedule with NRCS.

Whether this pencils out depends on your farm's energy spending and the size of upgrade you're considering. Award ceiling is $500,000, but most projects likely land lower. Confirm details with your local USDA office.

This program may help if your area was hit by disaster and community water infrastructure took damage. But no funding floor or ceiling was listed, so expect uncertainty until you contact RUS directly. Confirm your project's eligibility with Rural Utilities Service.

Solid option if your nonprofit or public body runs a community facility damaged in a declared disaster and you're in a rural area. The 75 percent cost-share is substantial, but confirm your facility type and disaster eligibility with RHS first.

Only pursue this if you're already doing (or planning) forest monitoring or evaluation work and need funding to support it. The description is thin on specifics, so confirm details with your local Forest Service office.

Worth your time only if you're institutional leadership or a researcher at an eligible college or university. For regular farmers, this funds the research your university might eventually use—confirm institutional eligibility with NIFA.

Texas A&M Forest Service received $15.7M for community wildfire protection plans and implementation projects in at-risk Texas areas. This may fund either developing new wildfire protection plans or carrying out projects in existing plans less than ten years old. If you farm or ranch in a high-wildfire-hazard Texas county, contact your county extension office to learn if community planning efforts are underway.

Sweet Home Fire & Ambulance District in Oregon received $8.7M to reduce fire fuels, boost wildfire preparedness, and lower risk in communities at the wildland-urban edge. Relevant if you farm near forested areas or in the district's zone—fuel reduction work may affect access or create opportunities for clearing. Check with your local fire district or county Extension agent about any preparedness programs or land-management resources now available in your area.

Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation received $8.0M to eradicate boll weevil from the Lower Rio Grande Valley, the last U.S. area with active infestations, using aerial applications of malathion in quarantine zones. Cotton growers in the LRGV may see aerial spray operations on commercial cotton; this is a cooperative effort between USDA and the foundation. Contact your local USDA office if you grow cotton in the Valley and have questions about spray schedules.

Idaho received $7.5M for wildfire hazard reduction on private lands near Interstate 90 and critical transportation routes. The work focuses on removing dangerous fuel buildup to protect property, lives, and water sources while improving emergency response. If your operation sits near I-90 or state/federal forest boundaries, contact Idaho Department of Lands to see if your land may qualify for fuel-reduction work.

Prairie View A&M University received $7.4M to provide Extension services in selected Texas counties, focusing on quality of life, natural resources, food security, and community resilience. Programming supports families and communities solving everyday agricultural and community problems through research-based education. Texas residents in Prairie View's service area may benefit from this outreach — check with your county office to confirm coverage.