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USDA selects 3.4 million acres for conservation 

April 5, 2020

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has announced the acceptance of more than 3.4 million acres in the general Conservation Reserve Program signup recently completed, the first general signup enrollments since 2016.

County offices will begin notifying producers with accepted offers no later than April 3.

Through the program, farmers and ranchers receive an annual rental payment for establishing long-term, resource-conserving plant species, such as approved grasses or trees, to control soil erosion, improve water quality and enhance wildlife habitat on cropland. Participating farmers and ranchers help provide numerous benefits to the nation’s environment and economy.


“The Conservation Reserve Program is one of our nation’s largest conservation endeavors and is critical in helping producers better manage their operations while conserving valuable natural resources,” said USDA Delaware Farm Service Agency Executive Director Sean McKeon. “The program marked its 35th anniversary this year, and we were quite pleased to see one of our largest signups in many years.”

Over these 35 years, the program has addressed multiple concerns while ensuring the most competitive offers are selected by protecting fragile and environmentally sensitive lands, improving water quality, enhancing wildlife populations, providing pollinator forage habitat, sequestering carbon in soil and enhancing soil productivity. Some 70 percent of the nation’s land is owned and tended privately, and America’s farmers, ranchers and landowners have willingly stepped up to protect the environment and natural resources.

This general signup included offers for State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement, which allows producers to install practices that benefit high-priority, locally developed wildlife conservation objectives using targeted restoration of vital habitat. Over 95 percent of SAFE offers submitted were accepted under this general signup, representing more than 487,500 acres. This acceptance level highlights the commitment to SAFE as an important part of the program. 

The 2018 Farm Bill established a nationwide acreage enrollment limit capped at 24.5 million acres in 2020 and growing to 27 million by 2023.

 

 

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