John Whitaker, USDA Farm Service Agency state executive director, announced Jan. 3 the addition of 115,000 acres that can be enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program in Iowa for critical wildlife and water quality efforts. This is in addition to the 5,423 acres of CRP Grasslands announced in December.

“Over the past 30 years, CRP has helped farmers to offset the costs of restoring, enhancing and protecting certain grasses, shrubs and trees that improve water quality, prevent soil erosion and strengthen wildlife habitat,” says Whitaker. “Given the national cap of 24 million acres on total CRP enrollment, it is more important than ever to pursue multiple benefits on each acre of CRP, such that many acres are providing erosion prevention, water conservation, recreation benefits for sportsmen, along with habitat for pollinators, and protection of grazing land.”

75,000 more acres can enroll in SAFE
Nationwide, farmers and ranchers now can enroll up to 1.1 million acres to restore high-priority wildlife habitat through the CRP State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement (SAFE) program, wetlands restoration or pollinator habitat improvements. In Iowa, an additional allocation of 50,000 acres and 25,000 acres are now available to enroll in the existing Gaining Ground for Wildlife SAFE and Pheasant Recovery SAFE program options, respectively.

In addition to soil erosion prevention and water quality improvements, this provides an excellent opportunity for landowners and farmers to enroll land into CRP to establish a habitat cover to enhance environmental benefits for the wildlife of the designated or surrounding areas.

Iowa quail habitat program
In addition to existing Iowa SAFE project announcements, an all-new SAFE project, called Iowa Early Successional Quail Habitat, has been approved for 40,000 acres.

“The Iowa Early Successional Quail Habitat SAFE project,” says Whitaker, “in addition to soil erosion prevention and water quality improvements, is designed to restore early successional habitat where it will be the most beneficial for quail. Restoring top-quality winter, nesting and early successional habitats will help increase Iowa quail populations. Other grassland birds and species, especially pollinators, will benefit as well.”

A conservation bump
For the last eight years, USDA has generated thousands of critical partnerships to conserve and protect natural resources on working landscapes, while enrolling a record number of acres in conservation programs. Of the nation’s land, 77% is owned and tended to privately, and America’s farmers, ranchers and landowners have willingly stepped up to address the growing impacts of a changing climate, he notes. With USDA’s support, they work to implement voluntary practices that improve air and water quality, prevent soil erosion, and create and protect wildlife habitat.

Since 2009, USDA has invested more than $29 billion to help producers make conservation improvements, working with as many as 500,000 farmers, ranchers and landowners to protect land and water on over 400 million acres nationwide.

New conservation farmland transfer policy
USDA announced a new policy Dec. 29 to allow farmers to take land out of the CRP program early if it is to be transferred to the next generation of farmers. U.S. Undersecretary of Agriculture Lanon Baccam said beginning Jan. 9, USDA is offering a termination opportunity for certain CRP acres.

Baccam made the announcement at the Joe Dunn farm in central Iowa near Carlisle. Dunn is the father-in-law to Iowa native and former U.S. Marine Aaron White, who with his wife, are prospective next-generation farmers. Baccam said the change to give young farmers a better opportunity to succeed makes perfect sense.

Normally, early termination of a CRP contract requires repayment of all previous payments plus interest. The new policy waives this repayment if the land is transferred to a beginning farmer or rancher. To learn more about FSA’s conservation programs, visit fsa.usda.gov/conservation or contact a local FSA county office. To find your local FSA county office, visit offices.usda.gov.