Producers urged to carefully consider CRP break-out options
Washington Ag Today December 22, 2009 More than 90-thousand acres under Conservation Reserve Program contracts will expire in Washington in 2010 and nearly 175-thousand acres will have contracts expire in 2011. Due to planting and preparation schedules, decisions are quickly approaching for many producers and conservationists with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service are urging Washington’s growers to carefully consider all of their options before converting CRP acres back into production. NRCS Assistant State Conservationist Dave Brown says the agency can help. Brown: “Through our EQIP Program we are offering some opportunities for farmers who have expired CRP that are interested in bringing that back in to annual crop production or converting that into a grazing operation to get some help in doing that correctly. Implementing some good tillage practices along with it. Or in the case of the folks who want to use it as grazing land if they need some support practices like fencing and water development in order to make that grazing system work, we are offering help along those lines as well.” Brown says one option is a conservation crop rotation practice that will include a one-time payment for participants who choose to forego a crop the first year after CRP. Producers can sign up for EQIP anytime but to get funding for 2010 the deadline is December 31st. I’m Bob Hoff and that’s Washington Ag Today on the Northwest Ag Information Network. ?
