UGUIDE
Active member
WILLMAR â?? The U.S. Department of Agriculture has agreed to offer certain producers the opportunity to modify and extend their Conservation Reserve Program contracts that are scheduled to expire Sept. 30.
To meet the statutory acreage limitation of 32 million acres established by the 2008 farm bill, USDA can extend only approximately 1.5 million of the 3.9 million total Conservation Reserve Program acres that will be expiring this year.
Farm Service Agency offices have been notifying participants of the opportunity to extend their contracts. Sign-up for the voluntary contract extension will begin Monday and continue through June 30.
The environmental benefits index score of the land when it was originally enrolled will be used to determine which contracts will be afforded the opportunity to extend. Preference will also be given to contracts with the highest potential for soil erosion.
The environmental benefits index score will also be used to determine whether participants are offered a three or five-year contract extension. However, the length of a Conservation Reserve Program contract can never exceed a total of 15 years.
Participants who accept USDAâ??s extension offer will continue to be paid at the contractâ??s current rental rate. All or a portion of the acreage under contract may be included in the extension, but no new acreage may be added.
Officials from USDA also announced that a general Conservation Reserve Program sign-up will not be held during the 2009 fiscal year. However, producers may continue to enroll relatively small and environmentally sensitive land into the program under the continuous sign-up provisions.
Some of the more common practices that qualify for enrollment under the continuous sign-up provisions include filter strips, field windbreaks, living snow fences, wetland restorations and riparian buffers.
Officials credit the program for reducing soil erosion by more than 400 million tons, protecting more than 2 million acres of wetlands, and providing buffers on more than 100,000 miles of streams and rivers.
To meet the statutory acreage limitation of 32 million acres established by the 2008 farm bill, USDA can extend only approximately 1.5 million of the 3.9 million total Conservation Reserve Program acres that will be expiring this year.
Farm Service Agency offices have been notifying participants of the opportunity to extend their contracts. Sign-up for the voluntary contract extension will begin Monday and continue through June 30.
The environmental benefits index score of the land when it was originally enrolled will be used to determine which contracts will be afforded the opportunity to extend. Preference will also be given to contracts with the highest potential for soil erosion.
The environmental benefits index score will also be used to determine whether participants are offered a three or five-year contract extension. However, the length of a Conservation Reserve Program contract can never exceed a total of 15 years.
Participants who accept USDAâ??s extension offer will continue to be paid at the contractâ??s current rental rate. All or a portion of the acreage under contract may be included in the extension, but no new acreage may be added.
Officials from USDA also announced that a general Conservation Reserve Program sign-up will not be held during the 2009 fiscal year. However, producers may continue to enroll relatively small and environmentally sensitive land into the program under the continuous sign-up provisions.
Some of the more common practices that qualify for enrollment under the continuous sign-up provisions include filter strips, field windbreaks, living snow fences, wetland restorations and riparian buffers.
Officials credit the program for reducing soil erosion by more than 400 million tons, protecting more than 2 million acres of wetlands, and providing buffers on more than 100,000 miles of streams and rivers.