Wildlife groups praise USDA for holding general CRP sign up
By Janet Kubat Willette
jkubat@agrinews.com
Date Modified: 08/26/2010 9:14 AM
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Ducks Unlimited and Pheasants Forever praised USDA for offering its first general Conservation Reserve Program sign up in four years this month.
"This is great news for wetlands conservation, waterfowl habitat, waterfowl and waterfowl hunters," Ducks Unlimited CEO Dale Hall said in a press release. "Maintaining CRP acres will translate into more ducks in the fall flight across the country each year."
"This new general signup is critical to prevent us from losing more acres and for preventing continued population decline of the birds many of us love to pursue each autumn," said Dave Nomsen, Pheasants Forever vice president of government affairs, in a press release.
Sign up runs through Aug. 27, with contracts to take effect Oct. 1.
The last general sign up was March 27, 2006, through April 28, 2006, said Greg Anderson, agricultural program specialist for the Farm Service Agency in Minnesota.
Interest has varied greatly, with Scott McLeod of Ducks Unlimited saying interest levels in North Dakota are greatest in the south central, east central and southwestern parts of the state.
The weather may play a factor as well. Small grain harvest is at its peak and there's been a stretch of dry weather allowing farmers to get into their fields and harvest. Others are putting up hay.
Landowners will have to find the time to come in because a deadline extension is unlikely, said Kent Politsch, USDA spokesman.
Landowners must complete the application process for the general Conservation Reserve Program and then wait to find out if their offer has been accepted. The offers are ranked using an Environmental Benefits Index. The index consists of five environmental factors and cost. The environmental factors are wildlife, water, soil, air and enduring benefits.
In order to be eligible to apply, land must have been cropped four of the six years between 2002 and 2007 and be located within a conservation priority area. It must have an Erodibility Index of eight or more. It could also be CRP land that's due to expire on Sept. 30, Anderson said. Canning crops and alfalfa qualify as crops for the purposes of CRP, he said.
Farmers not enrolled in the farm program will need to bring in receipts from the crop sold to show proof that the land was in production, Politsch said.
Minnesota is fortunate to have several conservation priority areas, including the National Prairie Pothole Priority Area, the Great Lakes Conservation Priority Area, Anderson said. State-identified priority areas include the karst priority area in southeast Minnesota, Sherburne County along the Mississippi River and the Beltrami-Clearwater county area, he said.
Land that has been in the Conservation Reserve Program doesn't automatically score higher than land that has not been previously enrolled, Anderson said.
Nomsen encourages landowners to consider enrolling land that is too wet, too dry or just too small a piece of ground to operate efficiently with larger equipment.
Land that isn't enrolled in the general sign up may be eligible for the continuous Conservation Reserve Program. Landowners may sign up for the continuous CRP at any time. One continuos Conservation Reserve Program, State Acres For wildlife Enhancement, has been particularly popular in Minnesota, Anderson said.
Under SAFE, landowners create habitat that's beneficial for the targeted wildlife species.