News

CRP enrollments open for 40th year

Farmers can now sign up for continuous and general Conservation Reserve Program options through USDA’s Farm Service Agency.

South Dakota farmer Lynn Tjeerdsma has had land enrolled in the program since it began 40 years ago.

“CRP is no longer considered where we put the whole landscape in, the whole farm,” he says. “We need to stop thinking about that and think about how it can be effectively used as a pinpoint tool to help operations get a better bottom line.”

During a recent Senate Ag Committee hearing on conservation, he points to advances in precision technology that can help identify farmland to consider.

“I can look at a map coming off the combine and I can see where the most productive ground is and target that ground, and say ok, this isn’t paying the bills this isn’t paying for the inputs that I’m putting on it,” he explains.

The USDA is accepting 1.8 million acres into the program for this fiscal year.

FSA Administrator Bill Beam says priority will be placed on conservation efforts that maximize the return on investments from both a conservation and economic perspective.

Offers for new voluntary contracts lasting up to 15 years will be accepted through June 6. USDA has also opened reenrollment for land under contract set to expire on September 30.