By ANN ALLEN
Indiana Correspondent

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — The USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) in Indiana started a general signup for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) Monday, that will continue through Aug. 27. During that period, farmers and ranchers may offer eligible land for CRP’s competitive general signup at their county FSA office.

“We are excited to offer Hoosier producers the opportunity to enroll their land into the nation’s largest conservation program,” said Julia A. Wickard, executive director for Indiana FSA. “CRP allows landowners to place acreage into a program that provides benefits to wildlife habitat, water quality and to our state’s ecosystem.”

Fulton County FSA Executive Director Steve Rodenberg described this signup as one that looks at the environment via a ranking process. “We won’t know who is accepted until all the applications go to Washington,” he said.

“They’re going to want to know what the landowner has to offer and what he can afford to give up, and how much he’s willing to spend to convert the land into a wooded or grassy area.”

CRP is a voluntary program that assists farmers, ranchers and other agricultural producers to use their environmentally sensitive land for conservation benefits. The 2008 farm bill authorized the USDA to maintain CRP enrollment up to 32 million acres.

Producers enrolling in CRP plant long-term, resource-conserving covers, including various grasses and trees, in exchange for rental payments, cost-share and technical assistance. “Washington will look at all the applications to see where it can get the most bang for the buck,” Rodenberg said.

While CRP protects millions of acres of America’s topsoil from erosion and is designed to improve the nation’s natural resources base, it usually encompasses small tracts.

“We seldom see more than 30-40 acres in CRP,” Rodenberg said. “In fact, that would be a large tract.”

Participants voluntarily remove environmentally sensitive land from production by entering into contracts for 10-15 years. In exchange, they receive annual rental payments and a payment of up to 50 percent of the cost of establishing conservation practices.

“Landowners must weigh their rent payments with the income they might receive if those areas were planted,” Rodenberg said. “And they must have a good idea of the cost involved in planting grass and trees on the site.”

For Tom Weaver, a Fulton County landowner who farms several thousand acres, CRP is a “no-brainer.

“We have 10 acres in the program,” he said. “They’ve been
developed into filter strips along waterways and on side hills. Some rim wooded areas where roots make tilling for row crops impossible, but where grass grows that provides cover for wildlife and helps prevent erosion.”

To help ensure interested farmers and ranchers are aware of the signup period, the USDA has signed partnership agreements with several conservation and wildlife organizations, which will play an active role in 2010 CRP outreach efforts. Additionally, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack has recorded two public service announcements that are online at www.fsa.usda.gov/psa

By reducing water runoff and sedimentation, CRP also protects groundwater and helps improve the condition of lakes, rivers, ponds and streams. Acreage enrolled in the CRP is planted to resource-conserving vegetative covers, making the program a major contributor to wildlife population increases in many parts of the country. As a result, CRP has provided significant opportunities for hunting and fishing on private lands.

Land not enrolled in CRP may be offered in this signup, provided all eligibility requirements are met. Additionally, current CRP participants with contracts expiring this fall covering about 4.5 million acres may make new contract offers.

Contracts awarded under this signup are scheduled to become effective Oct. 1.

The FSA implements the CRP on behalf of Commodity Credit Corp. It will evaluate and rank eligible CRP offers using an Environmental Benefits Index (EBI) for benefits to be gained from enrolling the land.

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 signup ends and after analyzing EBI data of all the offers. Those who would have met previous signup EBI thresholds are not guaranteed a contract under this signup.

In addition, CRP’s continuous signup program is ongoing; continuous acres represent the most environmentally desirable and sensitive land. For more information, visit www.fsa.usda.gov/crp