12/29/08 Protecting ag lands

The Farm and Ranch Land Protection Program provide matching funds to help purchase development rights on productive farm and ranch land. Working through existing programs the US Department of Agriculture partners with government and non-governmental agencies to acquire conservation easements. USDA provides up to half of the easement value. Natural Resources Conservation Service chief Arlen Lancaster says the FRPP went from a program whose primary purpose was protecting top soil to one that preserves agriculture viability. LANCASTER "So now it is not so much about protecting the topsoil but it is about protecting the farm and the viability of that as an ag operation. So that is a significant change. As well Congress created some certification opportunities where we can certify entities so they can have multi-year contracts to protect land." Lancaster says those changes should make it easier for entities to participate, which should mean more land can be protected. The Farmland Protection Program funding is expanded to 200 million dollars a year in 2012, up from the current baseline level of 97 million dollars. NRCS is busy writing new rules to implement the conservation programs in the new farm bill that it administers, which include EQIP and the new CSP. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott