FSA announces results of conservation program sign up
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Farm Service Agency State Executive Director Tim Kelley recently announced that USDA will accept 42,402 acres offered under the Conservation Reserve Program general sign-up 33, which closed April 28. Kelley also announced the results of the 2007 CRP contract re-enrollment and extension program.
“I’m pleased to announce that 83% of the acres offered in Missouri during sign-up 33 were accepted,” said Kelley.
Missouri producers made 1,111 contract offers covering 51,141 acres. Of those, 924 offers were accepted.
Kelley said that nationally, USDA received 22,990 contract offers covering 1.3 million acres, and that 18,140 offers covering one million acres, or 74% of the acres offered, were accepted.
USDA selected the most environmentally fragile of the cropland acres offered, ranking offers based on cost and the Environmental Benefits Index factors of soil erosion, water quality, enduring benefits, air quality and wildlife enhancement.
FSA ranked all offers on the same bases and considered offers with an EBI score of at least 242 as acceptable for enrollment. The national average EBI score for all offers this sign-up was 284.
The offers extended through sign-up 33 become effective Oct. 1, 2006, at which time total CRP enrollment will be 36.7 million acres.
Kelley also reported Missouri CRP participants with contracts set to expire in 2007 intend to re-enroll or extend contracts covering 613,994 acres of the 776,570 acres set to expire.
Additional information about the results of CRP general sign-up 33 and the 2007 contract re-enrollment and extension program is available on the FSA website at http://www.fsa.usda.gov/dafp/cepd/crp.htm.