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 This year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
updated signup options to provide greater incentives for
producers and increased the program’s conservation and climate
benefits, including setting a minimum rental rate and
identifying two national priority zones.
The CRP Grassland signup is competitive, and USDA’s Farm Service
Agency (FSA) will provide for annual rental payments for land
devoted to conservation purposes.
Grasslands Signup
CRP Grasslands helps Illinois landowners and operators protect
grassland, including rangeland, and pastureland and certain
other lands, while maintaining the areas as working grazing
lands. Protecting grasslands contributes positively to the
economy of many regions, provides biodiversity of plant and
animal populations, and provides important carbon sequestration
benefits.
FSA has updated the Grasslands Signup to establish a minimum
rental rate of $15 per acre, which will benefit 1,300 counties.
To focus on important wildlife corridors, FSA also identified
National Grassland Priority Zones, providing extra incentives to
producers for enrolling grasslands in important migratory
corridors and environmentally sensitive areas – the Greater
Yellowstone Elk Migration Corridor and the Severe Wind Erosion –
Dust Bowl Zone. Counties within these two zones get extra
ranking points as well as $5 added to their rental rate. The CRP
Grasslands Ranking Factors fact sheet has additional
information.
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How to Sign Up
To enroll in the CRP Grasslands signup, producers and landowners
should contact USDA by the August 20 deadline. Service Center staff
continue to work with agricultural producers via phone, email, and
other digital tools. Because of the pandemic, some USDA Service
Centers are open to limited visitors. Contact your Service Center to
set up an in-person or phone appointment. Additionally, more
information related to USDA’s response and relief for producers can
be found at farmers.gov/coronavirus.
More Information on CRP
Signed into law in 1985, CRP is one of the largest voluntary
private-lands conservation programs in the United States. It was
originally intended to primarily control soil erosion and
potentially stabilize commodity prices by taking marginal lands out
of production. The program has evolved over the years, providing
many conservation and economic benefits. The program marked its
35-year anniversary this past December.
[Illinois/ FPAC-Farm Service Agency]
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