The USDA says ag producers and private landowners can now begin signing up for the general Conservation Reserve Program (known as CRP).
Sign-up started Monday and will run through March 29th.
CRP gives farmers and landowners tools to conserve wildlife habitat while achieving other conservation benefits, including sequestering carbon and improving water quality and soil health.
Todd Bogenschutz, upland wildlife biologist with the Iowa DNR, says CRP has grown from 42-percent in 1990 to 62-percent in 2023.
Also, landowners are reminded USDA opened up the Continuous CRP for signups on January 12th. Continuous CRP is one of the most flexible conservation tools provided to producers and landowners. One popular wildlife practice under Continuous CRP is the State Acres For Enhancement (known as SAFE). The SAFE initiative restores vital wildlife habitat in order to meet high-priority state wildlife goals. Iowa has SAFE projects that target pheasants, quail, prairie chicken, ruffed grouse and grassland songbirds.
Landowners and producers interested in CRP should contact their local USDA Service Center to learn more or to apply for the program before their deadlines. Those landowners interested in more details on SAFE can visit the DNR’s CRP page at www.iowadnr.gov/crp.
