Conservation Stewardship Program

Agriculture is dynamic, adjusting in response to changes in the economy, technology, the environment, and policy – and agricultural production affects a wide range of natural resources.

The Glacial Lake Cranberries farm, located in Cranmoor, Wisconsin, has been in Mary Brown’s family since 1923. Her 6,000 acres consists of 330 acres of cranberries, 2,600 acres of forest, and 3,000 acres of reservoirs that support the cranberry acres. Her 96 fruit beds produce 10 million pounds of...

From protecting people and their communities to growing food in high tunnels to restoring streams for salmon to protecting precious soils, the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has been investing in Alaska’s working lands for 70 years. The NRCS’s commitment to agriculture in...

From the time Brittany Caskey was a toddler, she lived her life in the dirt and on tractors, learning from an early age the kind of work it takes to make things grow. In the small community of Hunter, in Woodruff County Arkansas, Caskey grew up with a dream of becoming a farmer. In 2017, the 26-year...

Buying more land isn’t always an option. But often, you can make your existing land go much further. By removing invasive weeds, seeding rye grass and adopting rotational grazing, Oregon rancher Jeff Baxter was able to produce a whole lot more on the same number of acres.

No one knew when Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas on August 25 as a Category 4 hurricane that it would be one of the most devastating hurricanes to make landfall in the United States. Texans along the Gulf Coast saw cities demolished, peak wind gusts as high as 130 mph, unprecedented rainfall...

“I don’t like crowds, and I don’t like busy highways,” says Crawford, Texas rancher Larry Mattlage. “That crazy world out there can get me frustrated and upset. This land is where I am most at ease.” He was raised on the land his German immigrant grandfather settled on in the late 1880s. The 400...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is helping Iraq War veteran Adam Boge improve technology and other efficiencies in his new farming operation, allowing the Ventura farmer to prepare for long-term success in the first full year on his own. Boge enlisted in the Army directly out of high school...

When Burchel Blevins drives visitors around his rural Kentucky farm, he points out the numerous conservation practices he has implemented to protect and preserve his land. Blevins owns more than 650 forested acres and 70 acres of open forest and grass land in different parts of Knox County, and he’s...

“The Tribe wants to provide a sustainable supply of walleye for tribal and non-tribal fishing in reservation waters,” said Lac du Flambeau Tribe Natural Resources Director Larry Wawronowicz. “Raising the fish larger is necessary now due to shoreline development, increased competition from in aquatic...