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Farmers and ranchers will be able to re-enroll their acres in Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contracts or extend contracts scheduled to expire between 2007 and 2010. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns announced the Bush administration sees the re-enrollment and extensions as allowing farmers to "take full advantage of the environmental benefits of this program."
The American Farm Bureau Federation applauds the administration for its decision to extend the CRP program as announced. AFBF has been working with USDA and the administration for extension of the CRP program and including the main specifics announced by Johanns. "We believe the program provides the highest level of environmental benefit with the conservation dollars available," said Don Parrish, AFBF senior director of regulatory relations. "It allows landowners to be proactive in conservation while avoiding conflicts in meeting regulatory requirements."
The Environmental Benefits Index (EBI) that was used when the original contacts were first written will be used again. The EBI is used to assign point scores to rank all CRP land enrollment offers based upon such things as improving wildlife habitat, water quality, air quality and reducing soil erosion. With five declining point ranges, farmers and ranchers with highest to lowest EBI numbers can re-enroll their land from up to 15 years down to two years.
