USDA Announces 411,000 Acres Accepted via CRP General Signup

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Enrollment of more than 800,000 acres of land into the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), including 411,000 acres via general signup 49, another 364,000 acres under continuous signup efforts and 101,000 acres via the new CRP Grasslands effort, has been announced by USDA.

“This was one of the most selective sign-up periods in CRP’s 30-year history, with a record high Environmental Benefits Index (EBI) cut-off and the lowest-percentage of applications accepted,” USDA said.

General signup 49 results: USDA accepted offers on 411,000 acres in the general enrollment. USDA selected offers by weighing environmental factors plus cost, including wildlife enhancement, water quality, soil erosion, enduring benefits, and air quality. USDA received over 26,000 offers to enroll more than 1.8 million acres during the general signup period that ran from Dec. 1, 2015, through Feb. 26, 2016.

CRP Grasslands: FSA will accept 101,000 acres in the program (via what is called signup 200), providing participants with financial assistance for establishing approved grasses, trees and shrubs on pasture and rangeland that can continue to be grazed. More than 70% of these acres are diverse native grasslands under threat of conversion, and more than 97% of the acres have a new, veteran or underserved farmer or rancher as a primary producer. FSA continues to accept CRP Grasslands offers and will conduct another ranking period later this year. Acres are ranked according to current and future use, new and underserved producer involvement, maximum grassland preservation, vegetative cover, pollinator habitat and various other environmental factors. More than 4,600 offers were received to enroll more than 1 million acres in the new CRP Grasslands program.

Continuous signup: For the continuous CRP signup, more than 364,000 acres have already been accepted for the 2016 program after 862,591 acres were accepted during signup 48 in Fiscal 2015, a record level.

Participants in CRP establish long-term, resource-conserving plant species, such as approved grasses or trees (known as “covers”) to control soil erosion, improve water quality and develop wildlife habitat on marginally productive agricultural lands. In return, FSA provides participants with rental payments and cost-share assistance. Contract duration is between 10 and 15 years.

As of March 2016, 23.8 million acres were enrolled in CRP, with 1.66 million acres set to expire Sept. 30, including 1.15 million acres enrolled via general signups and another 510,000 via continuous signup efforts.

Comments: There clearly was a major focus at USDA on limiting the level of acreage accepted via the general signup 49, with only 411,000 acres accepted out of 1.8 million offered, or just 23%. With the continuous signup interest active and that effort enrolling a record number of acres during Fiscal 2015, USDA appears to be figuring that another record enrollment could be in the offing. Based on the figures released by USDA, and if continuous signup matches the Fiscal 2015 level, new entries into the CRP program could well come in very near the 24-million-acre cap established for CRP in the 2014 Farm Bill for Fiscal 2017 and 2018 given that contracts on 1.66 million acres are set to expire Sept. 30, 2016.But this signup result potentially alters that situation.

Of 1,657,943 acres expiring on Sept. 30, 2016, 842,983 acres were offered for enrollment via signup 49. Of the 842,983 acres offered, 200,189 acres were accepted for enrollment during signup 49, or less than 24%. That is far less than some other general signups that have seen 80% or more of those expiring acres accepted for a new CRP contract. Overall, just under 50% of the acres accepted into CRP for signup 49 were those under a CRP contract that will expire Sept. 30, 2016, but will now have a new term in the program. So now there will be 1,457,794 acres that will exit the CRP Sept. 30, 2016, making it potentially even more likely the program limit of 24 million acres that will arrive Oct. 1 could be a relative factor down the road, especially with such strong interest in the continuous signup effort.

USDA Sec. Tom Vilsack in an interview said he hoped that Congress will allow for even higher enrollment in the next farm bill. “When Congress begins working on the 2018 farm bill, they will be working under a different set of assumptions as it relates to the (CRP),” Vilsack said. “It does behoove Congress as they prepare for 2018, I think they really do need to look at more than saving money in establishing the number of acres.”

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) said the reserve program will be “an important part of the forthcoming discussions over the next farm bill,” in part because of high demand for the program from producers facing low prices and a slumping farm economy. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said increasing the number of acres allowed in the CRP “will certainly be looked at” during the next farm bill. “When you’re putting together a new farm bill, everything is on the table,” he said.

NOTE: This column is copyrighted material; therefore reproduction or retransmission is prohibited under U.S. copyright laws.