Conservation Reserve Program sign-up deadline is April 6

State executive director of USDA's Iowa Farm Service Agency, John R. Whitaker, reminded farmers that the deadline for enrolling land into the Farm Service Agency's general Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) sign-up is April 6.

 

Interested producers are encouraged to contact their local Farm Service Agency (FSA) office to begin the sign-up process. Producers are also reminded that offers need to be completed in their entirety by the end of sign-up in order to be considered eligible.  "Interested persons need to talk to our local FSA offices now," said Whitaker. "Time management is critical with CRP enrollment due to the number of decisions to make."

 

Following sign-up, all offers for CRP will be evaluated and ranked using an Environmental Benefits Index (EBI) for the environmental benefits to be gained from enrolling the land in CRP. The EBI consists of five environmental factors (wildlife, water, soil, air, and enduring benefits) and a cost factor. Decisions on the EBI cutoff will be made after the sign-up ends and after analyzing the EBI data of all the offers.
CRP is the largest voluntary private-land conservation program. It helps farmers, ranchers and other agricultural producers use their environmentally sensitive land for conservation purposes. In return for offering the land, the Farm Service Agency provides participants annual rental payments, and cost share on behalf of the Commodity Credit Corporation.

 

For more information on CRP, producers should contact their county FSA office or log onto the FSA website at http://www.fsa.usda.gov.  USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender.