Deadline for CRP enrollment is Aug. 27

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture?s Farm Service Agency is having its 39th Conservation Reserve Program general enrollment signup in all U.S. county FSA offices until Aug. 27.

During the signup period, farmers and ranchers may offer eligible land for CRP at their county FSA office. Contracts approved under this signup are scheduled to become effective Oct. 1. Congress has authorized USDA to maintain CRP enrollment up to 32 million acres nationwide.

Land that is not currently enrolled in the CRP, as well as CRP contract that expire Sept. 30, may submit signup offers.

Marion County has 60 contracts expiring this fall. To submit offers, producers are asked to make appointments with the Marion County FSA office at 301 Eisenhower Drive in Marion or by calling 620-382-3714.

To meet basic eligibility requirements, producers must have owned or operated land for at least 12 months prior to the end of the CRP signup period.

Offered land must be cropland that has been planted or considered planted to an agricultural crop during four of the six years from 2002 to 2007. In addition, the land must meet at least one of the following standards:

? Have a weighted average erosion index of 8 or higher.

? Be expiring CRP acreage.

? Be located in a national or state conservation priority area. (A large portion of Marion County is located in a state designated CPA.)

FSA implements CRP on behalf of Commodity Credit Corp. National FSA officials will evaluate and rank eligible CRP offers using an Environmental Benefits Index for environmental benefits to be gained from enrolling the land in CRP.

The EBI consists of five environmental factors?wildlife, water, soil, air and enduring benefits?and cost. Decisions on the EBI cutoff or threshold will be made after the signup ends and after analyzing the EBI data of all the offers.

Those who would have met previous signup EBI thresholds are not guaranteed a contract under this signup.

CRP is a voluntary program that assists farmers, ranchers and other agricultural producers to use their environmentally sensitive land for conservation benefits.

Producers enrolling in CRP plant long-term, resource-conserving covers in exchange for rental payments, cost-share and technical assistance.

CRP protects millions of acres of America?s topsoil from erosion and is designed to improve the nation?s natural resources base.

Participants voluntarily remove environmentally sensitive land from agricultural production by entering into long-term contracts for 10 to 15 years.

In exchange, participants receive annual rental payments and a payment of up to 50 percent of the cost of establishing conservation practices.

By reducing water runoff and sedimentation, CRP also protects groundwater and helps improve the condition of lakes, rivers, ponds and streams.

Acreage enrolled in the CRP is planted to resource-conserving vegetative covers, making the program a major contributor to wildlife population increases in many parts of the country.

As a result, CRP has provided significant opportunities for hunting and fishing on private lands.

In addition to the general signup, CRP?s continuous signup program will be ongoing. Continuous acres represent the most environmentally desirable and sensitive land.

For more information, visit fsa.usda.gov/crp.

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Bill Harmon is executive director of the Marion County FSA office.

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