Howard Miller at NRCS Forestry Field Day in Jackson County, Photo Credit Sycamore Media

Howard Miller is the opposite of the farm kid who dreams of going to Hollywood. He works on film crews half of each year, but he only does it to support his rural habit. During the growing season, Miller works on his 30-acre property on the outskirts of rural Bellevue, Iowa, pop. 2,327. Miller harvests hundreds of pounds of chestnuts each year. He plants trees and works to build rich habitats in his woods and bottomland.

Miller bought his land 15 years ago. About five years ago, he contacted his local NRCS office and learned that his property might be a good fit for the Conservation Stewardship Program, otherwise known as CSP.

CSP through the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is a voluntary program that supports agricultural and forestry producers in implementing conservation practices on their land. For Miller, the program has helped him make ends meet while paying for practices to improve his property.

Miller’s CSP practices include planting about 70 trees and 30 bushes on three acres set back about 60 yards from Mill Creek. The land had once been poor hay ground. “It seemed like it was a waste,” Miller said.

Miller planted native trees selected to produce lots of acorns and berries to feed wildlife. “The joy of it for me was getting those trees planted,” he said. “Now they’re in their third or fourth year this spring. It’s just so cool to watch them grow. For the rest of my life, I’ll be able to watch them grow and develop and drop acorns and watch the animals come and pick up the material.” 

For anyone considering this program, the best first step is talking to someone at a local NRCS office. Staff can help a landowner navigate paperwork and determine what might make sense for a landowner, free of charge. 

Miller talked to NRCS district conservationist Lori Schnoor. “It’s kind of a complicated process,” Miller said of CSP. “She helped me design my first application.”

CPS is structured differently than other USDA conservation programs on working lands.  Landowners receive an annual payment for conservation practices, providing stability for the landowner.

Howard Miller at NRCS Forestry Field Day in Jackson County, Photo Credit Sycamore Media

For Miller, the annual payments have been a boon during the instability of film industry strikes. Knowing he can count on annual CSP payments allows him to plan his life in Bellevue. “It actually really helps me,” Howard said.

CSP also provides a cost-share on specific conservation practices. Some tree plantings, for example, provide a payment of nearly $2,000 an acre. In 2023, the USDA announced that most minimum CSP payments would increase from $1,500 to $4,000 annually.

When Miller first enrolled in CSP, only 12 of 80 local applications gained funding. “I felt like I won the lottery,” Miller said.

Today, the funding pot is much bigger, in part to funding expansion through the Inflation Reduction Act.  Today, an application has a much higher chance of success. Miller is currently applying to renew his five-year CSP enrollment.

For his CSP renewal, Miller hopes to establish wetland plants near his cabin, where two springs converge. Wetlands are rare in Iowa, where much of the farmland has been drained. Miller has also planted three acres of pollinator habitat and plans to plant more native trees like American persimmon and wild plum.

CSP makes more sense than having the property in hay. “It’s just a good use of the land,”  said. “There’s no way to make money off it farming. It’s so small, and it’s not high-quality farm soil anyway. Why not turn it into something that’s beneficial”?