VERMONT 2006 CSP TIER ELIGIBILITY

Minimum Eligibility and Tier I Documentation:

In addition to completing the CSP Self-Assessment Workbook in full, applicants will also need to delineate their agricultural operation. Applicants will need to outline on a map ALL agricultural land, incidental parcels, other lands, and ineligible lands, whether contiguous or non-contiguous, under the control of the applicant, and constituting a cohesive management unit that is operated with equipment, labor, accounting system, and management that are substantially separate from any other. The minimum size of an agricultural operation is a field. Control means possession of the land by ownership, lease, or agreement; and authority to act as decision maker for the management and operation of the land. Applicants can use their own maps, or they can obtain maps of their farm at the Farm Service Agency (FSA). This fact sheet along with information in the CSP Self-Assessment Workbook will help in completing this part of the application process.

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Agricultural Operation Delineation Fact Sheet (300 KB)

 If an applicant does not have control of the land that they wish to enroll in CSP, the Landowner will need to complete the ‘Control of the Land Certification Form’, and the applicant will need to submit these forms for each piece of land they wish to enroll but do not have control of at the same time they submit their CSP Self-Assessment Workbook. This form can also be located within the exhibit section of the Self-Assessment Workbook.

  CSP Control of Land Certification Form

Tier II Documentation:

In addition to the Minimum Eligibility and Tier I documentation (see above), the ‘CSP VT 2006 Tier II Self-Assessment Worksheet’ will also need to be completed and submitted with the completed CSP Self-Assessment Workbook and all other Minimum Eligibility documentation (see Minimum Eligibility and Tier I documentation above).

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‘CSP VT 2006 Tier II Self-Assessment Worksheet’ 

Tier III Documentation:

 In addition to the Minimum Eligibility and Tier I documentation and Tier II documentation (see above), the following Tier III minimum eligibility requirements and documentation will also need to be completed and submitted with the completed CSP Self-Assessment Workbook and all other Minimum Eligibility documentation (see Minimum Eligibility and Tier I documentation above).

The level of treatment necessary to enter into a Tier III contract for incidental forestland (bottomland forests and small associated woodlots located within the bounds of working agricultural land or small adjacent areas that are managed to maximize wildlife habitat values - limited individually in size to less than 10 acres), incidental land (field borders, linear practices, small wet areas), and other land (farmstead, barnyards, feedlots, equipment storage areas, material handling areas) will be no readily observable erosion or point contamination sources.
The minimum requirement for riparian corridors is considered achieved when the streams and natural drainage within the agricultural operation include natural vegetation, or a riparian forest or herbaceous buffer that extends at least 2.5 times the channel width on either side of the stream or 10 meters, whichever is less.
The following document will need to be complete to document this portion of eligibility:

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CSP VT 2006 Tier III Other Land Self-Assessment Worksheet (39 KB) 

The minimum requirement for water quantity - irrigation water management on cropland or pastureland is considered achieved when the current level of treatment and management for the system results in a water use index value of at least 50. The following document will need to be completed to document this portion of eligibility:

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CSP VT 2006 Tier III Irrigation Benchmark (70 KB)

The minimum requirement for wildlife is considered achieved when the current level of treatment and management for the system results in an index value of at least 0.5 of the habitat potential using the following documentation:

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CSP VT 2006 Wildlife Self-Assessment (167 KB)

  The minimum requirement for grazing land is considered achieved when the applicant can demonstrated that the agricultural operation is implementing a monitoring plan with appropriate records to verify that the grazing management plan is meeting the CSP soil and water quality standards. The required minimum components of a monitoring plan include:
- Grazing use records outlining grazing periods and numbers of animals in each grazing unit
- Assessments, such as trend studies, similarity indices or rangeland health assessments, as well as photographs of resource conditions, and documentation of the condition of stream-bank and other sensitive areas
- Target and actual utilization levels    

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