Bush announces new CRP sign-up for farmers

By Ben Holman

Nevada Daily Mail

On Aug. 4, President Bush stood on a Minnesota farm and announced a new round of Conservation Reserve Program signups. The plan will allow early re-enrollment for farmers who have land that is nearing the sunset of the CRP contract. He also announced a new round of CRP signups to take place in early September.

President Bush was quoted by the Pioneer Press as saying, "The farmers no longer need to worry about whether or not they'll be re-enrolled in the program. As of this moment, you will be."

As part of the new initiative, the Missouri FSA will begin accepting applications to enroll environmentally fragile cropland on Aug. 30 and will run through Sept. 24.

Tim Kelly, state executive director of the Missouri Farm Service Agency, said in a press release, "During the signup period, land owners and operators may submit offers to enroll land into the program." Offers enrolled during this signup period will go into effect October 1, 2005 or 2006.

Kelly said that the agency will use the Environmental Benefits Index to rank the acreage offered.Vernon County residents who wish to apply should work with the FSA office to maximize the environmental benefits of their CRP offers.

According to Jawan Thompson, executive director for the Vernon County Farm Service Agency, around 30 local farmers are expected to participate.

Missouri is currently ranked eighth nationally among states with CRP land with over 1.5 million acres currently enrolled. CPR is the country's largest conservation program involving private land. Over 34.8 million acres are covered under the plan nationally.

Acreage that has been enrolled in the system is devoted to resource-conserving vegetative covers, which contribute to wildlife populations. Participants voluntarily remove crop land from production for a period of 10-15 years in return for rental payments from the government.