Landowners have until Sept. 30, to enroll in the “continuous sign-up” of the Conser-vation Reserve Program (CRP). Payments can be very good – comparable to cash rent in many cases, says Gary Hachfeld, regional extension educator. “Annual CRP payments for Class A land come to about $150 an acre,” Hachfeld says. Environmentally desirable land devoted to certain conservation practices is eligible for the CRP continuous sign-up program. Offers are automatically accepted, provided the land and producer meet eligibility requirements. Offers for continuous sign-up are not subject to competitive bidding and are approved locally, Hachfeld says. Contracts run from 10-15 years. Eligible land must be either cropland, including field margins, that is planted to an agricultural commodity four of the previous six crop years from 1996-2002; or certain marginal pastureland enrolled in the Water Bank Program or suitable for use as a riparian buffer. Eligible conservation practices include riparian buffers, wildlife habitat buffers, grass waterways, shelterbelts, living snow fences and contour strips. More details on eligible land, conservation practices and payments are available in a publication that Hachfeld and co-workers have written. You can find it on the Nicollet County Extension Web site at www.extension.umn.edu/offices Or, contact Hachfeld at (507) 931-6800, hachf002@umn. edu.
