Land Enrolled in Conservation Stewardship Program
|  Video
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| Retha Colclasure |
| 12/3/2009 |
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| Thousands of acres of land enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program are set to expire over the next few years. That worries some conservation groups. But a new conservation program established in the 2008 Farm Bill may be able to make up for some of the loss. So far, 550,000 thousand acres of farmland in the state has been signed up for the new Conservation Stewardship Program. Unlike the more familiar Conservation Reserve Program, or CRP, land enrolled in CSP can still be used for agriculture production. But farmers have to commit to using innovative farming practices like crop rotation, no till farming, or cover crops. So far, 250 farmers and ranchers in the state have signed up for the program. But they aren`t the only ones who will benefit. "I think you can see across the countryside now compared to about 20 years ago the level of conservation stewardship. We have a lot of diverse crops out there, we have a lot more healthy landscapes and grazing lands, and so we all benefit from increased water quality, air quality, and better food products," says Jennifer Heglund, Assistant State Conservationist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service. The exact amount of money farmers get for signing up for the program hasn`t been established yet, but will range from $4 to $22 an acre, depending on the type of land enrolled and what it is used for. |
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