2010 CRP ANNOUNCEMENTS – GENERAL CRP SIGN-UP COMING!!!
Earlier this year at Pheasants Forever’s National Pheasant Fest, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack announced plans for a new Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) general signup. Secretary Vilsack also announced increased acreage allotment for the Continuous CRP practice CP33 (Quail Buffers) which has been significant in increasing wildlife habitat in our area.
- The new general CRP signup slated for this year will be the first general signup since 2006. It arrives in time to address the 4.4 million acres of CRP expiring on September 30, 2010. An additional 14.2 million acres of CRP are slated to expire between 2011 and 2013. The new general CRP sign-up should take place sometime this summer in the next couple months. This program could allow eligible landowners to enroll “whole fields” into conservation cover.
“Secretary Vilsack indicated his intent to keep CRP at, or nearly fully enrolled at the program’s authorized level of 32 million acres. The secretary outlined just how he intends to accomplish that by utilizing both a general signup and increased allocations for continuous CRP practices targeted at benefitting song birds, pheasants, quail, and waterfowl,” reported Dave Nomsen, Pheasants Forever & Quail Forever’s Vice President of Government Affairs.
- Conservation Practice 33: Known as the “Upland Bird Habitat Buffers” or “Quail Buffers” practice, more than 219,000 of the 250,000 acres allocated in the program have been enrolled nationwide, 14,000+ in Ohio. The newly announced 100,000 acres will be distributed among Midwest and Southern states. We will receive an additional 10,000 acres for the state of Ohio and these are available right now for eligible landowners.
“When President Obama took office, we asked his Administration for a new general CRP signup, new SAFE acres, and new CP 33 acres for quail,” explained Nomsen. “Today, Secretary Vilsack and President Obama delivered us these critical tools needed to put habitat back on the ground, birds in the air, and hunters in the field.”
USDA Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) Conservation Reserve Program is a voluntary program available to agricultural producers to help them protect ecologically sensitive lands. Producers enrolled in CRP can plant long-term, resource conserving covers that help to improve water quality, control soil erosion, and provide wildlife habitat. In return, FSA provides participants with rental and cost-share payments.
Both the general CRP program and CP33 practice can provide valuable wildlife habitat and can also take the place of hard to farm or low producing areas, which can be very beneficial to farmers.
To learn more about the CRP program and practices available contact your local USDA Service Center or Pheasants Forever Farm Bill Biologist, Erik Lewis at 937-654-3884.