As Quail Hunting Nears, 4.3 Million Acres Accepted for CRP

50,000 landowners offer 4.8 million acres for program enrollment

Credit: (quailforever.com)

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture today announced 4.3 million acres were accepted for enrollment in the federal Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) as a result of the August CRP general signup. Quail Forever says the first CRP general signup in four years shows a continued demand for the program.

More than 4.8 million acres were offered during the competitive CRP general signup #39. With 4.45 million CRP acres potentially leaving the program on September 30, 2010 due to expiring contracts, the 4.3 million acres accepted for enrollment from CRP general signup #39 will keep the program at more than 31 million acres nationwide and near the federally mandated (via the 2008 Farm Bill) cap of 32 million acres.

"More than 50,000 landowners offered acres for CRP enrollment during the general signup, which shows how important this program is to the rural landscape of America," said Dave Nomsen, Vice President of Government Affairs for Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever. "Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack made a pledge at this year's National Pheasant Fest that he and this Administration would keep CRP near its 32 million acre ceiling, and this signup did that."

Nomsen added, "Looming on the horizon is the 16 million CRP acres set to expire from 2011 through 2014. However, it's clear CRP has been established as a priority program with this Administration. We're headed in a positive direction." Also encouraging is that the average rental rate for the 4.3 million acres accepted in signup 39 is $46 per acre. "Clearly, participants recognize the competitive nature of CRP payments on acres that are difficult to farm and the stability and security from income they provide," Nomsen said.

Offers for CRP contracts for general signup #39 were ranked according to the Environmental Benefits Index (EBI). Contract offers scoring 200 and above have been accepted for enrollment. "For those of you scoring at home, this number means the resulting CRP acreage will establish high-quality habitat for wildlife," Nomsen added. "No doubt the one-on-one conservation expertise of the more than 60 Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever Farm Bill Biologists helped landowners submit many successful contract bids."

Many pheasant and quail hunters have been curious about the outcome of CRP general signup #39, especially as interest increases with states ready to open their upland hunting seasons in the next three to six weeks. "A strong CRP is always good news for pheasant hunters," Nomsen said, "From private lands to state public hunting access programs highly dependent on CRP, the Conservation Reserve Program not only creates pheasants but places to pursue them."

When the next CRP general signup will occur is not yet known, but by accepting 4.3 million acres from general signup #39, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has left approximately 800,000 acres that can be enrolled in CRP in fiscal year 2011 through various Continuous Conservation Reserve Program signups (CCRP). These include the wildlife habitat friendly State Acres For wildlife Enhancement (SAFE) and Conservation Practice 33 (upland bird habitat buffers) and provide landowners with options in the absence of a CRP general signup.

Since its formation in 1985, Pheasants Forever has been one of the nation's strongest supporters of CRP. A voluntary program for agricultural landowners, CRP provides annual rental payments and cost-share assistance for the establishment of long-term, resource conserving covers on eligible farmland. The millions of acres of CRP lands in the United States protect topsoil erosion, improve water and air quality and is a major contributor to increasing wildlife populations – including pheasants and quail – in many parts of the country.

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