Vermont Farmer Ecosystem Stewardship Program (VFESP)

The Vermont Farmer Ecosystem Stewardship Program supports Vermont farmers to enroll in the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). This state-funded program provided supplemental payments to Vermont farms who successfully engaged in conservation planning on cropland or pasture under CSP and/or who successfully enrolled in CSP contracts for their cropland or pasture. It was designed to ensure that farms are adequately recognized and compensated for their whole-farm stewardship and to provide a pathway to conservation planning and the implementation of additional conservation enhancements through CSP. The program was based on recommendations from the Vermont Payment for Ecosystem Services and Soil Health Working Group and was administered by the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets (VAAFM).

Under this state-funded incentive program, agricultural producers of all sizes who successfully engaged in the development of an NRCS CSP Assessment received a one-time payment from the state of $2,000, followed by an additional state payment of $7,500 if they successfully signed a CSP contract. These one-time payments in the first year of engagement were above and beyond any federal CSP funds made available through NRCS.

Vermont farms who planned to submit, had submitted, or were applying for renewal of a CSP application to USDA NRCS were eligible to apply for supplemental state payments. Applicants first contacted their local Farm Service Agency (FSA) to ensure farm records were up to date, then submitted a CSP application to NRCS. Applications for the additional state incentive payment were due within two weeks of the NRCS CSP deadline for priority review. Funding was limited and available on a first come, first served basis.

State supplemental payments: a one-time $2,000 payment upon completion of an NRCS CSP Assessment, and an additional one-time $7,500 payment upon signing a CSP Agreement with NRCS (funding amount variable based on budget and number of applicants). These state payments are in addition to federal CSP payments from NRCS, which pay a minimum of $4,000 and a maximum of $40,000 per year over a five-year contract.

This program is no longer accepting applications as of July 1, 2026. Questions may be directed to the program contact, Noah Gilbert-Fuller, at Noah.Gilbert-Fuller@vermont.gov.