02/01/06 A general sign up for CRP

02/01/06 A general sign up for CRP

Farm and Ranch February 1, 2006 USDA has announced there will be a general sign up for the Conservation Reserve Program, CRP, this spring. John Johnson of the USDA's Farm Service Agency provides the details. Johnson: "That sign up is going to begin on March 27th and run through April 14th. Those producers and landowners will be able to make offers and that sign up is on a competitive basis. All the offers will be evaluated on the basis of their environmental benefits for wildlife, water quality, soil, erosion, enduring benefits and the costs of their offer and then we will select which ones will actually be accepted into the CRP program later on this summer." The USDA also says it is beginning to notify producers with CRP contracts that expire in 2007, that they may extend or re-enroll their contracts. Johnson says the terms depend upon the Environmental Benefits Index at the time the land was enrolled. Johnson: "We are breaking all the expiring contracts into five groups. The top 20% on the EBI score get the opportunity to re-enroll for a full new contract of 10 years unless they have wetland restoration practices on their land. In that case they will get a 15 year contract. The second 20% tier will get a five year extension offer of their existing contract terms and the third quintile will get a four year extension, the fourth will get a three year extension and the 5th quintile will get a two year extension offer." I'm Bob Hoff and that's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.
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