Challenges Facing CRP
With the 2008 farm act, substantial changes were made to the USDA Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). The major change was reducing the maximum enrollment acreage from about 37 million acres to 32 million acres which is about a 14% reduction in maximum acres. Also, during this period, a substantial increase in commodity prices took place which has caused the CRP rent prices to increase dramatically in some areas.
The June 2010 issue of Amber Waves has a very good article on the challenges facing the CRP program. A brief history shows that the CRP program began in 1985 and 1986 and the primary goal was to retire highly erodible farm land from production for a 10 to 15 year term. Enrollment grew quickly, reaching about 33 million acres by 1990. After the initial contracts were issued, program goals were modified to include water quality and wildlife habitat improvements in addition to reduced soil erosion. To capture these multiple benefits, starting in 1990, program administrators used an Environmental Benefits Index (EBI) to rank competing offers received during periodic “general signups”. The EBI computes a score using a formula that weighs such factors as soil erodibility, location within a priority zone, the proposed conservation practice and the requested rental rate – with offers only being accepted if an EBI score exceeds a cutoff value.
1n 1996, a continuous CPR was added to enroll parcels of land with high enviromental benefits outside of the EBI ranking process.
Between 1990 and 2008, CRP enrollment fluctuated around 33 million acres, with a high of 36.8 million in 2007. As of February 2010, the total acres in CRP are about 31.2 million acres. This includes about 4.5 million acres of continuous signup acres.
With the new farm bill coming up in the near future, it will be interesting to see what changes will be made to the CRP program.
Paul Neiffer is a certified public accountant and business advisor specializing in income taxation, accounting services, and succession planning for farmers and agribusiness processors. Paul is a principal with CliftonLarsonAllen in Walla Walla, Washington, as well as a regular speaker at national conferences and contributor at agweb.com. Raised on a farm in central Washington, he has been immersed in the ag industry his entire life, including the last 30 years professionally. Paul and his wife purchase an 180 acre ranch in 2016 and enjoy keeping it full of animals.
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