1468.20—Application for CFO program participation.
(a)
Any eligible owner or producer within an approved pilot project area may submit an application for participation in the CFO to a service center or other USDA county or field office(s) of FSA or NRCS, where the pilot project area is located.
(b)
CCC will accept applications throughout the fiscal year. CCC will rank and select the offers of applicants periodically, as determined appropriate by the State Conservationist. The application period will begin after a pilot project area has been approved.
(c)
The designated conservationist, in consultation with the local work group, will develop ranking criteria to prioritize applications within a pilot project area which consists of more than one owner or producer. NRCS will prioritize applications from the same pilot project area using the criteria specific to the area. The FSA county committee, with the assistance of the designated conservationist and designated FSA official, will approve for funding the application in a pilot project area based on eligibility factors of the applicant and the NRCS ranking.
(d)
The designated conservationist will work with the applicant to collect the information necessary to evaluate the application using the ranking criteria. An applicant has the option of offering and accepting less than the maximum program payments allowed, offering to apply more conservation practices to the land in order to increase the likelihood of being enrolled. In evaluating the applications, the designated conservationist will take into consideration the following factors:
(6)
Likelihood to remain in conserving uses beyond the contract period, including tree planting and permanent wildlife habitat;
(e)
If two or more applications have an equal rank, the application that will result in the least cost to the program will be given greater consideration.