CREP
Idaho producers see strong benefits in signing up for CREP to reduce impacts on ESPA; enrollees get paid annual rental rates for idled farmland
Press release from Idaho Water Resource Board
Producers in Southern Idaho showed strong interest in the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) during the latest enrollment period, with 34 new contracts pending, covering 91 farm fields and 3,152 acres in five counties, according to State CREP Manager Rob Sharpnack.
At the Idaho Water Resource Board’s regular bimonthly meeting, Sharpnack presented the results of the enrollment period that opened on Feb. 12 and closed on March 20th. Farmers who enrolled in CREP must make a 10-year commitment in the contracts, idle the farmland, voluntarily pause their water right for the contract term (some irrigation may be used for vegetation establishment), and convert acreage into permanent vegetative cover.
In return, the producers receive federal annual rental payments and state cost-share assistance. The Idaho Water Resource Board has added funding to increase the budget for state cost-share assistance for producers who sign up for the CREP program. The Board’s interest mainly is tied to the reduction in groundwater withdrawals from the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer (ESPA), officials said.
Future groundwater savings as a result of the recent CREP enrollments will amount to about 6,305 acre-feet per year over the 10-year life on the contracts, Sharpnack said. The new contracts must be approved at the federal level and will become official on April 6, he said.
CREP is a partnership program between the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) and the State of Idaho that provides incentive payments to farmers to idle marginal irrigated cropland and conserve groundwater. Producers enroll in CREP through the FSA. Sharpnack provides technical assistance as the State CREP Manager for the Idaho Soil and Water Conservation Commission.
With many commodity prices below the break-even point for producers, and some farmers facing the possibility that they may be exceeding their water allotments under the 2024 Water Settlement Agreement, enrolling some acres in CREP looked to be an attractive option, officials said.
