CRP sees shift in focus and reduction in use in north-central Montana

Conservation Reserve Program land has greatly reduced in Hill County since it's peak in 2007, Farm Service Agency Chief Farm Program Specialist Leslie Rispens said, but the decline is due to a variety of factors as well as the federal government taking a new approach to the conservation program.

"The reason for decline is complex and cannot be attributed to just one factor," he said.

The website of the nonprofit Environmental Working Group, which tracks CRP and other conservation efforts, said Hill County in 2007 had 658 different participants participating in CRP, with 299,380 acres enrolled in the program with the federal government paying $11,891,734 that year to participants.

According to an agricultural census, in 2012 Hill County had 802 farms or ranches. The last year recorded on the EWG website, 2014, Hill County was the top participant in the CRP program in Montana with 490 participants, 159,038 acres and $6,903943 paid out.

This year, FSA is expecting a 20,000- to 30,000-acre reduction of CRP land this fall, almost half of the total CRP in Hill County, totaling 75,241.98 acres.

The reduction in CRP has also created a reduction of wildlife preservation in Hill County, Rispens said.

He added that the state of Montana currently has 1,064,047.38 acres of CRP.

The reduced participation in CRP

Rispens said FSA has seen an increase in land values and rental rates in Hill county and Montana as a whole. The land value has gone up and a gradual decrease in CRP rates over same period had a combined effect.

"That has created financial incentives for people to bring land back into production," he said. "That's also coupled with a really strong organic movement in Hill County."

The organic acres seeded in Hill County has gone up dramatically in the past five to six years and most of the land is coming out of CRP, he added. Rispens said that land coming out of CRP is prime land to start organic production.

"The CRP land makes an excellent start for organic operations because it's been chemical-free for several years and they can begin production as organic production immediately, and that's created a really attractive alternative use," he said.

Organic production was not a large factor in agriculture when the program first began in 1985, he said. The FSA is seeing a lot of the land coming out of CRP going directly to organic.

In the past, when CRP participation was up, the FSA also received public comment that CRP was making it difficult for new producers to grow and survive in the market, Rispens said. Producers were putting their land directly into CRP once they retired rather than putting the land on the market or for lease for new producers.

"So to address that the FSA, in conjunction with partners in Congress, reduced (CRP) rental rates down to sort of address that issue, taking away some financial incentive," Rispens said.

Reducing the price of CRP was done to make it a competitive decision for producers whether to put their land in CRP or on the market.

"We are trying to achieve that balance between beginning farmers and still providing the conservation structure that we need with CRP," he added. "... The people who own that land will give new farmers a chance to lease the land instead of automatically putting it into CRP."

It's a factor that people overlook, he said, adding that the FSA has been criticized for reducing CRP rental rates.

"It's just been an adjustment over time here and trying to find that perfect balance there," he said.

Hill County farmer Alec McIntosh said that he has participated in the CRP program for approximately 20 years, two 10-year contracts. At one point he had approximately 900 acres in the program but now has 30 acres, which will be coming out in the next couple of years.

He said he started participating in CRP because of the economics of it, soil health and his family. He added that he had two boys whom he wanted to spend time with and by putting his land in CRP the land would have matured after his children where older than 18.

"It was good," he said.

He added that the land he put into CRP was in good condition when it came out, improving wildlife, structure of soil and soil quality was better.

When he first started the paperwork to apply for CRP, he and the FSA had to assure the land was eligible, he said. The original goal was to take fragile land that was eroding from wind, water or other environmental causes, do some calculations with the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service, and, if it qualified, the land was put into the program. He added that producers were still obligated to perform proper maintenance during contract, such as weeding.

"I had a little bit of heartburn with some of that," McIntosh said. "I did not think that was a good management practice but that was how the program was set up, that was the only heartburn I had."

After the 30 acres comes out of CRP, he said, he is still not going to farm that land but leave it for the wildlife instead.

The government reducing payment per acre helped make those decisions, he said.

"It wasn't as attractive, and each year it got less and less attractive," he said.

He added that it is a more economical decision than five or six years ago to raise crops on the land than to get involved in CRP.

There is less participation in the program, he said, but in the future most likely a conservation program will be in place.

"I think some type of program, may not be called the same thing, I guess, it's still in play," McIntosh said. "But there is a good chance there will always be a program similar to that oriented to soil health and quality."

Rispens said that support for CRP remains strong with conservation partners, sports people, outdoor people and the general public. Hill County and Montana may not see as large sections of land participating in CRP as before, but the FSA is taking the program in a new direction with a focus on specific conservation objectives.

2018 Farm Bill

FSA is accepting applications beginning June 3 for certain practices under Conservation Reserve Program continuous signup and will offer extensions for expiring CRP contracts.

FSA stopped accepting applications last fall for the continuous CRP signup when the 2014 Farm Bill authority expired. The 2018 Farm Bill reauthorized CRP, which is one of the country's largest conservation programs.

Rispens said the Farm Bill is under a new conservation objective, and training with staff will be coming out as soon as possible so they can educate the public. The Farm Bill continued support for the program as well as increased the number of acres which can be in the program from 24 million to 27 million by 2023. One thing it did, he said, was specify goals for FSA with 8.6 million acres out of the 27 million designated for continuous sign up. It also set high priority conservation practices for 2 million acres of grasslands.

The CRP fact sheet on grasslands says that protecting grasslands contributes positively to the economy of many regions. It provides biodiversity of plant and animal populations and improves environmental quality. The program is set up so participants keep their right to conduct common grazing practices, produce hay, mow or harvest for seeds - dependent on wildlife - and conduct fire rehabilitation or construct firebreaks and fences.

"We expect to use it on a more surgical level to treat specific conservation problems like water quality," Rispens said.

By utilizing the program in this way, the FSA will be able to treat specific issues, he added.

"I think the future is very bright for the program," he said. "I think that it will continue for a long time and I think we're just seeing a shift."

CRP can be a tool in addition to other programs to face conservation issues, he said. The program continues and will expand to reach as far as enrolling land identified as critical to conservation. He added that price per acre has reduced slightly in the new Farm Bill, but with the adjustments made by Congress and the FSA the program will be more effective.

"We are going to go in and with a combination of adjustments to our rates and eligibility criteria," Rispens said. "We're going to treat pieces of ground that can contribute greater conservation benefits."

Continuous signup

The continuous signup will include such practices as grassed waterways, filter strips, riparian buffers, wetland restoration and others, the FSA release said. More information on the improved practices can be found at http://bit.ly/2VEWnAf/.

Continuous sign up enrollment contracts are 10 to 15 years in duration. Soil rental rates will be set at 90 percent of the existing rates and no incentive payments will be offered for these contracts.

General sign up will open in December this year and grasslands sign up will be later.

A one-year extension will be offered to existing CRP participants who have expiring CRP contracts of 14 years or less. Producers eligible for an extension will receive a letter describing their options.

Alternatively, producers with expiring contracts may have the option to enroll in the Transition Incentives Program, which provides two additional annual rental payments on the condition the land is sold or rented to a beginning farmer or rancher or a member of a socially disadvantaged group.