Future of CRP ?

M

McFarmer

Well-known member
I’m thinking with the cost cutting talk in Washington that new CRP contracts might be in doubt.

I have some EQUIP contracts in the works, we will see.
 
It will be a wild ride the next 4years. CRP may be cut and the tariffs if they happen could result in retaliation from overseas buyers of grain crops making CRP look good again. I imagine a lot of farmers are loosing sleep with worry. Planning in the near future will be tough.
 
It might just be the areas I hunt, but CRP went away a few years ago. I really see very little of it, I can only think of 1 parcel of approximately 80 acres in a couple county area. I'm sure there is more but not a lot more. The only thing I am seeing more of is drain tile and center pivots.
 
I haven't seen a CRP patch in the area I hunt in 15 years.

However, since MN passed the mandatory buffer strip law years ago, there's been addtional habitat added along waterways, creeks, wetlands, and other drainage ditches. Its created some decent hunting opportunties, if you can obtain permission.
 
I hope it remains. I have some more I hope to put in, probably in the next two years.
 
I applied to put some more in this spring with the continuous sign up. We will see, I’m thinking the program is on thin ice.
 
I’m so torn because it can be a really great program, although in my part of Texas it is trash because there’s too much lovegrass, but I’m also concerned about the national debt. 🤷‍♂️
 
DustyHWV said:
I’m so torn because it can be a really great program, although in my part of Texas it is trash because there’s too much lovegrass, but I’m also concerned about the national debt. 🤷‍♂️
Click to expand...
ChatGPT with the assist on this one (below) but CRP is a tiny portion of the federal budget. You’re not moving the needle by cutting it. Also, think about the heavy rains, we had this spring in much of pheasant land, CRP lands acted as a sponge and helped take all that excess rain away from farm fields, waterways, etc. That is a $ saver.
  • Annual CRP Payments: Approximately $1.77 billion in 2023.
  • Total Federal Spending: $6.75 trillion in fiscal year 2024.
The years are different but it’s only one year off, this means CRP accounts for about 0.03% of total federal spending.
 
In the overall myopic view of hunting and conservation, why wouldn't the Trump administration cut CRP? The real effects wouldn't hit until the end of his term, and he's not up for reelection anyway. And he can say he's cutting our spending.

After the China tariffs, he sent cash to farmers so he might do that again. Help them farm marginal land for $4 corn...

I doubt the military budget gets touched, even though cutting that budget by 1% would fund four CRP programs.
 
While the farm bill may be a target for spending reductions, it's fairly bi-partisan and entrenched. And the previous Trump administration did sign some significant bills with conservation components in them. I'm "wait and see"... been bouncing ideas back and forth with DU/PF and the NRCS office for a 40 acre piece of ground, just trying to figure out the best "bang for our bucks."
 
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