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Source: USDA, 11/12/20 The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced the signup periods for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and the CRP Grasslands in 2021. Signup for general CRP will be open from Jan. 4, 2021, to Feb. 12, 2021, and signup for CRP Grasslands runs from March 15, 2021 to April 23, 2021. Both programs are competitive and provide annual rental payments for land devoted to conservation purposes.“The Conservation Reserve Program and the many focused programs that come under it, like CRP Grasslands, are some of our most critical tools we have to help producers better manage their operations while conserving natural resources,” said Richard Fordyce, Administrator of USDA’s Farm Service Agency. “As one of our nation’s largest conservation endeavors, CRP has proved to protect our valuable resources, and next year’s signup gives our farmers and ranchers an opportunity to enroll for the first time or continue their participation for another term.” Enrollment
Options CRP―General Signup Through CRP, farmers and ranchers establish long-term, resource-conserving plant species, such as approved grasses or trees, to control soil erosion, improve water quality and enhance wildlife habitat on cropland. Farmers and ranchers who participate in CRP help provide numerous benefits to the nation’s environment and economy. CRP general signup is held annually. The competitive general signup includes increased opportunities for enrollment of wildlife habitat through the State Acres For Wildlife
Enhancement (SAFE) initiative. Grasslands
Signup CRP Grasslands helps
landowners and operators protect grassland, including rangeland, pastureland,
and certain other lands while maintaining the areas as grazing lands.
Protecting grasslands contributes positively to the economy of many regions,
provides biodiversity of plant and animal populations, and improves
environmental quality. A separate CRP Grasslands signup is offered each year
following general signup. Signed
into law in 1985, CRP is one of the largest private-lands conservation programs
in the United States. It was originally intended to primarily control soil
erosion and potentially stabilize commodity prices by taking marginal lands out
of production. The program has evolved over the years, providing many
conservation and economic benefits. The program marks its 35-year anniversary
this December. Program successes include:
- Preventing more
than 9 billion tons of soil from eroding, which is enough soil to fill 600
million dump trucks;
- Reducing nitrogen
and phosphorous runoff relative to annually tilled cropland by 95 and 85
percent, respectively;
- Sequestering an
annual average of 49 million tons of greenhouse gases, equal to taking 9
million cars off the road;
- Creating more than
3 million acres of restored wetlands while protecting more than 175,000
stream miles with riparian forest and grass buffers, which is enough to go
around the world seven times; and
- Benefiting bees
and other pollinators and increasing populations of ducks, pheasants,
turkey, bobwhite quail, prairie chickens, grasshopper sparrows and many
other birds.
The successes of CRP contribute to USDA’s Agriculture Innovation Agenda and
its goal of reducing the environmental footprint of U.S. agriculture by half by
2050. Earlier this year, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced
the department-wide initiative to align resources, programs and research to
position American agriculture to better meet future global demands. For more information on CRP, visit fsa.usda.gov or contact your local FSA county office.
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