Ronald Reagan started the Conservation Reserve Program. Critters love it! What say you landowners?

Let's start with the Red River Farm Network tracking new Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsak saying the United States Department of Agriculture is looking for ways to encourage CRP participation.

Vilsack said wants to work with states and find creative ways to boost enrollment. There is a 25 million acre cap on CRP acreage, but less than 21 million acres are currently enrolled

So there are that many available acres that the government want to pay producers to not produce?  I'm a less is more sorta fella.  Less I need to do is fine by me.  I have plenty of other things to do.  But is CRP actually not doing anything?

Signed into law by PresidenThe l Ronald Reagan in 1985, CRP is one of the largest private-lands conservation program in the United States. Thanks to voluntary participation by farmers and landowners, CRP has improved water quality, reduced soil erosion, and increased habitat for endangered and threatened species.

So for a contract between 10-15 years, landowners can send their land back to nature and let her have her way with it.  Shoot, with the CRP Access Program, there's government cost sharing to help nature take it back.  Of course, then we taxpayers get to hunt on it.  So thanks for that.

CRP is not simply to combat erosion, but instead re-establish a woodshed for wildlife. From a KFYR-TV 2021 interview

The federally funded program encourages landowners to remove sensitive land from production and planting idle grasses and other vegetation that benefit wildlife, improve water quality, the list goes on.

“So the general sign-up is very competitive where producers are going to be offering land for enrollment and competing on a nationwide basis. It goes on an environmental benefit index scoring,” said North Dakota FSA Program Director, Wanda Braton.

You want to some more information on how you could be involved in the CRP progam? Well, just click right here.

So my question to any of y'all that have the option, are you applying for CRP designation?  Have you in the past?


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