Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

CRP Sign-Up Set To Begin January 18

The USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) will be conducting a conservation reserve program (CRP) sign-up beginning January 18.

The CRP is a voluntary program that offers annual rental payments and cost-share assistance to establish long-term, resource-conserving covers on eligible land. The rental rates are made based on the agricultural rental value of the land and cost-share assistance is provided in the amount equal to not more than 50% of participants costs to establish the needed practices.

Under Sign-Up 20, all eligible offers will continue to be evaluated and ranked using an Environmental Benefits Index (EBI) based on the environmental benefits expected to accrue if the land is enrolled in the CRP program.

Data collected for each of the EBI factors is based on the relative environmental benefits for the land offered. Offers are then ranked in comparison to all other offers nationwide, and selections are made from that ranking.

During the CRP's 20th sign-up you can offer all or part of your acreage you currently have enrolled in the CRP program that expires on September 30, 2000, or expired on September 30, 1999, or acreage devoted to a grass cover under the CRP that expired September 30 of any of the years, 1997-2000.

Eligible cropland also includes cropland that is both of the following:

• planted, COC approved prevented planted or considered planted to an agricultural commodity during any two of the crop years 1995 through 1999; and
• physically and legally capable of being planted in a normal manner to an agricultural commodity, as determined by COC.

Before making decisions about planting or participating again in the CRP, farmers are strongly urged to find the facts about all the different ways CRP can enhance their land, water and wildlife.

The FSA also encourages farmers to find out more about the opportunity to conserve their land through the high-conservation valued practices, such as grassed waterways, filter strips, contoured buffer strips, riparian buffers, including marginal pastureland to be devoted to riparian buffers, field windbreaks, shelter belts, or similar practices.

The Farm Service Agency will cost-share on the establishment of the needed practices.

These practices listed above are also considered CRP continuous sign-up practices, making them eligible to be enrolled at any time and without having to submit a competitive offer in the general 20th sign-up.