USDA accepts 4.3 million total acres in CRP signup

The United States Department of Agriculture last week announced it had approved contracts to put 4.3 million acres into the general Conservation Reserve Program, or CRP.

General CRP accounts are for enrollment of entire fields, while continuous CRP is used for targeted areas of particular high risk of environmental impact – areas like hilltops and stream beds.

Under CRP, landowners receive payments under long-term contracts to remove environmentally sensitive land from agricultural production.

The 2010 general CRP signup was the agency’s first since 2007.

In Washington, the USDA approved 1,136 contracts to enroll 182,255 acres of land into general CRP. That figure represents acceptance of 84.3 percent of the 1347 applications to enroll 216,198 acres.

Rod Hamilton, program chief for the USDA Farm Service Agency’s state office in Spokane, said county level numbers were not yet available as of press time.

An USDA news release reported 57 percent of the acres approved during this signup were for land that was under a contract set to expire by Sept. 30. Just shy of 4.5 million acres of CRP contracts expire Sept. 30.

Overall national enrollment brings the total of CRP acres to 31.3 million, 800,000 acres shy of the 32 million acres statutory cap. Those acres are split among 473,000 contracts with land owners.

Average national rental rate under the signup was $46.03 per acre. In Washington, the average rental payment is $49.22 per acre.

Iowa landowners received the highest average rental rate at $165.31 per acre, while those in Montana received the lowest average, $27.72 per acre.

Contracts are awarded based on the Environmental Benefits Index, consisting of six factors: wildlife enhancement, water quality, soil erosion, enduring benefits, air quality and cost.