CRP quail workshops planned for Arkansas farm producers
Jan. 03, 2007
LITTLE ROCK - Farm producers who want to provide quail and other wildlife habitat on their cropland now have several new and existing opportunities through the Conservation Reserve Program. The programs will be highlighted in a series of workshops being held around the state over the next two months. The USDA's Farm Service Agency and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission are sponsoring this workshop. At each of the workshops, a free meal will be provided by the AGFC.
According to David Long, Statewide Private Lands Coordinator for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, these programs can provide incentives ranging from yearly soil rental payments over 10 to 15 years with 50 percent to 90 percent of practice cost paid, $4 to $9 per acre for maintenance added to the rental payment and $100 per acre up-front payments. “Producers may be surprised just what incentives and payments are available to restore quail and other wildlife habitat on portions of their farm operation. Producers will receive specific program information that may prove helpful in increasing farm income," Long said. "I encourage farmers to come to one of the workshops in their area and learn about the CRP’s financial incentives for their marginally productive cropland,” he added.
At each of the workshops, there will be presentations on farm bill programs and quail biology and management as well as representatives from the AGFC, Farm Service Agency and Natural Resources Conservation Service available to answer questions and make appointments for farm visits, noted AGFC statewide quail coordinator Steve Fowler. “The goal of the workshop is to educate producers on new and existing CRP practices available and how these can create premium habitat for quail and other wildlife on the farm along with supplemental farm income through 10 to 15 years of CRP rental payments and other program incentives,” Fowler explained.
Fowler went on to say that “in surveys of landowners, including row-crop farmers, quail are in the top three wildlife species they desire on their properties. With many acres across the row-crop areas of the state currently only marginally profitable for agriculture production, these programs can boost farm income at a time farmers are struggling with higher fuel prices and other higher input costs.”
Long said that many croplands are either drought prone, have low yields, can’t be irrigated or are just hard to farm for other reasons. "Placing those hard to farm crop land acres into one of the CRP practices can significantly improve farmers’ financial bottom-line and at the same time, improve habitat for quail, deer, turkey, rabbits and many other species of wildlife,” he said.
Workshops are scheduled in the following areas:
January
February
Additional information about the workshops also may be obtained by contacting the FSA and NRCS county office.