FARMERS & RANCHERS: NOW IS THE TIME TO SIGN UP FOR CONSERVATION RESERVE PROGRAMS

Land conservation and remediation have never been more important to American agriculture. Mid- and long-term projected demand for grains, fruits, vegetables, dairy and meat produced in the United States remains strong.

?However, soil depletion has been and continues to be a growing problem. Additional productivity challenges are arising as extraordinary and extreme weather conditions are taking significant tracts of agricultural land offline - in some cases requiring years for recovery.

?The need to improve sustainability, rely less on soil amendments, and maximize the utility of acreage rendered fallow for whatever reason has never been greater. Fortunately, federal and state programs exist today that can help farmers and ranchers meet these challenges. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), along with many ag-focused state governments, are recognizing the value of offering farmers and ranchers support to achieve these conservation objectives.

?The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP).

The federal government's Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) provides American farmers and ranchers the opportunity to idle large tracts of environmentally fragile farmland in exchange for an annual rental payment. Enrollment for 2024 started yesterday (March 4th) and runs through March 29th.

?Offered through USDA’s?Farm Service Agency?(FSA), CRP gives agricultural producers the resources and support to conserve wildlife habitat while achieving other conservation benefits, including sequestering carbon and improving water quality and soil health.?For example, CRP can help producers and landowners establish long-term, resource-conserving plant species, such as approved grasses or trees.

Additionally, the CRP program offers qualifying participants a Climate-Smart Practice Incentive to help increase carbon sequestration and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by helping producers and landowners establish trees and permanent grasses, enhance wildlife habitat and restore wetlands.?

?The Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP).

Another federal program focused on supporting the conservation and improvement of America's agricultural lands, ACEP protects the agricultural viability and related conservation values of eligible land by limiting nonagricultural uses which negatively affect agricultural uses and conservation values. The program seeks to protect grazing uses and related conservation values by restoring or conserving eligible grazing land, and protecting and restoring and enhancing wetlands on eligible land.

ACEP has two components:

• Agricultural Land Easements?(ALE) help private and tribal landowners, land trusts, and other entities such as state and local governments protect croplands and grasslands on working farms and ranches by limiting non-agricultural uses of the land through conservation easements.
• Wetland Reserve Easements?(WRE) help private and tribal landowners protect, restore and enhance wetlands which have been previously degraded due to agricultural uses.

State Conservation Programs.

Some state governments also work with USDA to provide conservation resource programs for their farmers and ranchers. For example, in Florida?The Rural and Family Lands Protection Program (RFLPP) is an agricultural land preservation program designed to protect important agricultural lands through the acquisition of permanent agricultural land conservation easements. The program is written into Section 570.70, Florida Statutes, and Chapter 5I-7, Florida Administrative Code (F.A.C.).?Projects are reviewed by a Technical Review Team, ranked through a formal process by the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program Selection Committee, and approved by the Governor and Cabinet.?

?The RFLPP program’s conservation easements ultimately provide a two-fold benefit: protecting a viable agricultural sector while providing rural landscapes and open space. Since its creation in 2001, the program has successfully acquired conservation easements on nearly 69,000 acres of working agricultural land.??

?During the 2023 application cycle (which closed on July 27, 2023), agricultural landowners from over 180 properties — representing over 200,000 acres — submitted new applications to be considered for funding. Last month, the Governor and Cabinet formally approved the program’s?project acquisition list, which ranked over 250 eligible properties for acquisition.

?RFLPP continues to use money held over from the 2022-2023 budget. Governor Ron DeSantis has proposed spending up to $100 million for the program during the current 2024-2025 fiscal year. Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson is lobbying the Florida Legislature for an appropriation of $300 million for the program.

?THE CLOCK IS TICKING!

Ag-landowners and producers interested in CRP and related state-sponsored programs should contact their local?USDA Service Center?to learn more about federal and state conservation resources, or to apply for one or more relevant programs before their deadlines.??