Eligible applicant. To apply for CSP, a producer must:

Be the operator of an agricultural operation in the Farm Service Agency (FSA) farm records management system. Potential applicants who are not in the FSA farm records management system must establish records with FSA. 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, landlords, sharecroppers, 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, that they share in the risk of producing a crop and are entitled to share in the crop available for marketing from the farm (or would have shared had the crop been produced), and that they are part of the daily management, administration, and performance of the operation and share in the risk;

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;

Be in compliance with the highly erodible land and wetland conservation provisions found at 7 CFR part 12;

Be in compliance with Adjusted Gross Income provisions found at 7 CFR part 1400;

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 an historically underserved producer or a veteran farmer or rancher, if applicable; and payment eligibility as established by 7 CFR part 1400; and

Provide a list of all members of the legal entity or joint operation, as applicable, and embedded entities along with members' tax identification numbers and percentage interest in the legal entity or joint operation. Where applicable; American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Pacific Islanders may use another unique identification number for each individual eligible for payments.

Eligible land. A contract application must include all of the eligible land on an applicant's agricultural operation. A participant may submit an application(s) to enter into an additional contract(s) for newly acquired or newly eligible land, which would then compete with other applications in a subsequent ranking period.

Ineligible land. The following ineligible lands (even if covered by the definition of eligible land) are part of the agricultural operation, but ineligible for inclusion in the contract or for payment in CSP:

Land enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), 7 CFR part 1410 unless—

The conservation reserve contract will expire at the end of the fiscal year in which the land is to be enrolled in the program, and

Conservation reserve program payments for land enrolled in the program cease before the first program payment is made to the applicant under this subchapter;

Land enrolled in a wetland reserve easement through the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program;

Land enrolled in the Conservation Security Program, 7 CFR part 1469;

Public land including land owned by a Federal, State, or local unit of government; and

Land used for crop production after February 7, 2014, the date of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2014, 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 the land does not meet such requirements because that land:

Had previously been enrolled in CRP,

Has been maintained using long- term crop rotation practices as determined by the NRCS, or

Is incidental land needed for efficient operation of the farm or ranch as determined by NRCS.