Pheasants Forever Applauds USDA Action Aimed Toward Fulfilling 32 Million CRP Acres
Saint Paul, Minn. June 10, 2010 ? The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today released the final draft of a new crop insurance agreement, announcing $6 billion in savings has been created through this action. Pheasants Forever is pleased that one third of these savings will be invested in Farm Bill programs, including increasing Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acreage to the maximum authorized level of 32 million acres nationwide.
Today?s announcement is the most significant CRP action since February, when USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced publicly at Pheasants Forever?s National Pheasant Fest his pledge to keep CRP fully enrolled at the maximum level. Coupled with plans for a new CRP general signup later this year, today?s funding news highlights the Obama Administration?s follow-through on strengthening the nation?s strongest federal conservation program of the last 25 years.
?Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever members, upland hunters, conservationists should be proud,? said Dave Nomsen, Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever?s Vice President of Government Affairs. ?We?ve shared our concerns about CRP in recent years, and the USDA and the Obama Administration are not only listening, but acting toward a fully-subscribed CRP initiative.?
Additional CRP news included in today's USDA announcement calls for investing in new and amended Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) initiatives; and investing in CRP monitoring.
The new general CRP signup slated for later this year will be the first general signup since 2006. It arrives in time to address the 4.4 million acres of CRP expiring on September 30, 2010. An additional 14.2 million acres of CRP are slated to expire between 2011 and 2013. USDA?s ongoing action to solidify CRP is necessary to maintain and improve the wildlife habitat and environmental benefits created via the program?s 25-year history.
Since CRP?s formation in 1985, Pheasants Forever has been one of the nation?s strongest supporters of the program. 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.
Pheasants Forever and its quail division, Quail Forever, is dedicated to the conservation of pheasants, quail and other wildlife through habitat improvements, public awareness, education and land management policies and programs.
