Kirby Payne, executive director for the Daviess County USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA), announced that contracts for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) for fiscal year (FY) 2012 have been awarded. In Daviess County, 5,661 acres have been accepted into CRP.
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During the 41st general CRP signup conducted this spring, more than 38,000 CRP offers were received on approximately 3.8 million acres nationwide. USDA accepted enrollment of 2.8 million acres, including 1.4 million acres in Missouri.
"The accepted CRP contracts perpetuate the past quarter century of program success by providing a low risk opportunity to implement a variety of conservation practices on environmentally sensitive land right here in Daviess County," said Payne. "CRP practices improve water and air quality, increase wildlife habitat and prevent soil erosion."
How successful is CRP? According to Payne, since its inception 25 years ago, CRP acres have resulted in an eight billion ton reduction in soil erosion, restoration of two million acres of wetlands and adjacent buffers, vegetative protection of more than 200,000 stream bank buffers and significant increases in upland wildlife numbers which translates to recreational dollars for rural economies.
Landowners enrolled in CRP receive annual rental payments and cost-share assistance to establish long-term, resource conserving covers on eligible farmland. Accepted contracts are effective Oct. 1, 2011.
For more information about CRP and other FSA programs, please visit www.fsa.usda.gov/crp.