Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Major Shift Planned In Reserve Program

According to Thomas Wheri, state conservationist for the Arkansas USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and Wayne Perryman, state executive director for the Farm Service Agency, the Department of Agriculture has announced a major shift in the USDA's Conservation Reserve Program USDA.

"The focus of the proposed CRP will be to conserve and improve our natural resources," Wheri said. "Through the proposed rule, the Department will enroll land that will yield the highest environmental benefits, and return to production less erodible land better suited for planting crops."

USDA is issuing a proposed rule that would expand the types of land converted by the Conservation Reserve Program (CPR), and target the most environmentally sensitive acreage for enrollment.

"Under CRP, landowners, who sign contracts, agree to convert highly erodible and other environmentally sensitive cropland to approved conservation uses for ten years. In exchange, participating landowners and operators receive annual rental payments and may receive cost-share assistance with respect to the establishment of the conservation use, " Wheri said.

The Clinton Administration intends to build upon the successes of the CRP with continued emphasis on the enrollment of acreage. This notable reduces soil erodibility, improves water quality, protects wildlife habitats, encourages tree planting and achieves other significant conservation and environmental benefits," said Wheri. "Controlling soil erosion is still the single largest priority of CRP because it not only protects our future ability to produce an abundant food supply, but it also protects and improves the quality of our air and water."

According to Perryman, "Actions by Congress effectively prohibit new extensions of expiring CRP contracts in the fiscal year beginning October 1. All landowners waiting to participate in the CRP, including those with expiring contracts, must submit bids for their land and complete with other bids."

"The proposed rule ensures that the rates for CRP land are comparable to local rental rates," said Perryman. "Rental rates must be fair both to those entering the program and to farmers and ranchers who must compete with CRP in renting land."

USDA has already implemented a continuous sign-up system which provides additional incentive payments for people who enroll their environmentally sensitive land or put their land into the highest environmentally sensitive land or put their land into the highest environmental use possible, such as by using it to grow filter strips, riparian buffers, and field wind breaks.

To provide the broadest range of conservation benefits from CRP, the Department proposes to expand eligibility criteria to accept cropped wetlands. "Enrolling wetlands in the CRP benefits everyone by saving soil, improving water quality and ensuring protection of some of our most important wildlife habitate on private lands. It provides producers an economically viable option to properly manage their land and makes it easier to comply with other wetland protection measures."

Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman said, "some say that America must choose between modern production agriculture and the environment. The ten- year success and popularity of the CRP among producers and the public prove otherwise, production agriculture and increased farm income are absolutely compatible with concerns we all share for a clean and healthful environment. And this Administration is a proven friend to both the farmer and the environment.:

Glickman said the CRP proposed rules are a big part oft the Administration's effort to strenghten "locally-led conservation assistance" to landowners. While the proposed rules establish the basic policy goals and broad criteria for the CRP, it is the producers, conservation districts, FSA county committees, local NRCS and Farm Servic Agency employees and the state conservation leadership who will ultimately be the most influential in enrolling priority land.

According to Wehri, Gilckman added that the CRP rules were created together with the other conservation programs to maximize environmental benefits for every dollar spent as well as serve landowners simply and efficiently. These benefits will become more apparent very soon once the rules for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQUIP) are announced with other conservation rules to follow shortly. To date, the department has announced rules for Wetlands Reserve Program as wll as the Wetlands and Highly Erodible Lands Programs, also known as Swampbuster and Sodbuster, respectively.