1470.6—Eligibility requirements.
(a) Eligible applicant.
To be an eligible applicant for CSP, a producer must be the operator in the Farm Service Agency (FSA) farm records management system. Potential applicants that are not in the FSA farm records management system must establish records with FSA. Potential applicants whose records are not current in the FSA farm records management system must update those records prior to the close of the evaluation period to be considered eligible. NRCS may grant exceptions to the “operator of record” requirement for producers, tenants, and owners in the FSA farm records management system that can demonstrate, to the satisfaction of NRCS, they will operate and have effective control of the land. Applicants must also meet all of the following requirements:
(1)
Have effective control of the land unless an exception is made by the Chief in the case of land administered by the BIA, Indian lands, or other instances in which the Chief determines that there is sufficient assurance of control;
(2)
Be in compliance with the highly erodible land and wetland conservation provisions found at 7 CFR part 12 ;
(4)
Supply information, as required by NRCS, to determine eligibility for the program, including but not limited to, information related to eligibility requirements and ranking factors; conservation activity and production system records; information to verify the applicant's status as a historically underserved producer, if applicable; and payment eligibility as established by 7 CFR part 1400; and
(5)
Provide a list of all members of the legal entity and embedded entities along with members' tax identification numbers and percentage interest in the entity. Where applicable, American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Pacific Islanders may use another unique identification number for each individual eligible for payment.
(b) Eligible land.
A contract application must include all of the eligible land on an applicant's agricultural operation, except as identified in paragraph (b)(3) of this section. A participant may submit an application(s) to enter into an additional contract(s) for newly acquired eligible land, which would then compete with other applications in a subsequent ranking period. The land as described below is part of the agricultural operation and eligible for enrollment in the CSP:
(iii)
The applicant will designate by submitting a separate application if they want to offer NIPF for funding consideration,
(iv)
If designated for funding consideration, then the NIPF component of the operation will include all the applicant's NIPF. If not designated for funding consideration, then the applicant's NIPF will not be part of the agricultural operation; and
(4)
Other private agricultural land, as determined by the Chief, on which resource concerns related to agricultural production could be addressed by enrolling the land in CSP.
(c) Ineligible land.
The following ineligible lands are part of the agricultural operation, but ineligible for inclusion in the contract or for payment in CSP:
(6)
Land used for crop production after June 18, 2008, that had not been planted, considered to be planted, or devoted to crop production for at least 4 of the 6 years preceding that date, unless that land:
(ii)
Has been maintained using long-term crop rotation practices as determined by the designated conservationist, or
(iii)
Is incidental land needed for efficient operation of the farm or ranch as determined by the designated conservationist.