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“This sign-up opportunity for USDA’s Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is critical to the Nebraska environment and for a greener and healthier America,” announced Farm Service Agency State Executive Director Dan Steinkruger. “Interested farmers and landowners should contact their local FSA office to schedule an appointment between August 2 and 27, 2010 if they are interested in the program.”
As of August 1, 2010, Nebraska has 1,092,760 acres under contract in the CRP. On September 30, 2010 there are 179,185 acres expiring from contracts or 16.4% of the total Nebraska acreage. Steinkruger noted, “Nebraska needs a strong enrollment in this program period to maintain the environmental benefits we have built in past years under the CRP.”
“This sign-up opportunity for USDA’s Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is critical to the Nebraska environment and for a greener and healthier America,” announced Farm Service Agency State Executive Director Dan Steinkruger. “Interested farmers and landowners should contact their local FSA office to schedule an appointment between August 2 and 27, 2010 if they are interested in the program.”
As of August 1, 2010, Nebraska has 1,092,760 acres under contract in the CRP. On September 30, 2010 there are 179,185 acres expiring from contracts or 16.4% of the total Nebraska acreage. Steinkruger noted, “Nebraska needs a strong enrollment in this program period to maintain the environmental benefits we have built in past years under the CRP.”
CRP is a voluntary program that assists farmers, ranchers and other agricultural producers to use their environmentally sensitive land for conservation benefits. Producers enrolling in CRP plant long-term, resource-conserving covers in exchange for rental payments, cost-share, and technical assistance. CRP protects millions of acres of America’s topsoil from erosion and is designed to improve the nation’s natural resources base. Participants voluntarily remove environmentally sensitive land from agricultural production by entering into long-term contracts for 10 to 15 years. In exchange, participants receive annual rental payments and a payment of up to 50 percent of the cost of establishing conservation practices.
FSA implements CRP on behalf of the Commodity Credit Corporation. FSA will evaluate and rank eligible CRP offers using an Environmental Benefits Index (EBI) for environmental benefits to be gained from enrolling the land in CRP. The EBI consists of five environmental factors (wildlife, water, soil, air and enduring benefits) and cost. Decisions on the EBI cutoff will be made after the sign-up ends and after analyzing the EBI data of all the offers.
Those who would have met previous sign-up EBI thresholds are not guaranteed a contract under this sign-up. In addition to the general sign-up, CRP’s continuous sign-up program will be ongoing. Continuous acres represent the most environmentally desirable and sensitive land. For more information, visit http://www.fsa.usda.gov/crp. |
CRP Sign-up Important for Nebraska
