The Outdoors

By Scott Rall, Outdoors Columnist

So, the prescribed fire season is coming to an end for this year. The weather has been un-cooperative to say the least. Burning prescribed fire needs at least some measure of help from mother nature, winds from one direction and at a mph that would make a wind surfer unhappy.

Most of the fires we are lighting are applied to property in a CRP contract. CPR stands for Conservation Reserve Program. CRP started in about 1986 and was an element in the Federal Farm Program that started in that year. CPR was initially instituted for reasons that are not all that prominent today.

Back in the early ‘80s the farm community was going through some very tough times. Crop prices were low and interest rates were very high. CRP was a program that allowed producers to set aside some of their less productive acres and plant them to grass. This accomplished several things. It reduced the total number of acres planted to conventional crops. Less acres planted meant less total harvest and an upward pressure on crop prices.

The second important item was that these CRP enrolled acres provided a guaranteed source of income in an uncertain ag market. At the time a third benefit, which still exists today, is that many of these less productive acres were more prone to erosion and flooding. The benefit to clean water and reduced chemical run off is still a benefit of CRP today. The wildlife value of these programs almost 40 years ago was not a high priority. Seeding was often done with a singular species and with varieties that provided a lesser value to ground nesting birds.

CRP has evolved over the past 40 years and is still an important part of every Federal Farm Bill. Today there are many different kinds of CRP. In fact, there are many different programs that have been tailored to each specific state. CRP normally falls into one of two categories. There is what is called a general sign up and a second program called a continuous sign up. In a general sign up each producer submits a project that has to compete against all of the other submissions. Points are assigned to each project depending on soil type, erodibility, what is planted in these acres and a variety of other factors. The producer submits a proposal and when the sign up closes they are notified as to whether they were successful of not. Extra points were added to the project if the producer was will to take a haircut on the payment rate.

The other CRP type was called a continuous enrollment. In Minnesota one of those programs was called SAFE.  This stands for State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement. This allowed absolutely any producer who wanted to enroll up to 40 acres the ability to do so without having to compete against other submissions. These enrollments took place on a first come first served basis until all of the available acres where committed.

Continuous sign ups include buffer strips along waterways, living snow fence, trees parallel to the road to keep the snow from causing road maintenance issues, field wind breaks designed to reduce wind erosion and several others. Continuous sign ups were usually smaller parcels. General sign ups could be very large.  I did a seeding on a general sign up a few years back that was over 400 acres. 

There are certain criteria too numerous to list in this column today but for the most part if you are interested in setting aside some acres for a guaranteed income that benefits wildlife you can in most cases do so.

The biggest change in CRP over the years is the rates that are paid and the wildlife benefits derived. Today’s CRP has significantly more wildlife benefits then it did at its inception. CRP grass mixes now have many different species of grasses and many programs require forbs and flowers to benefit pollinators.

These 10-15 year contracts require what is called mid-contract maintenance. This is where my burning efforts come in. In years 5-6-7 of the contract some form of maintenance is required. It keeps the cover robust and helps keep out invasive trees.

CRP acres nationally have been 24 million to a high of 40 million. It is my understanding that there is about 450 million tillable acres in the United States. When crop prices are low CRP interest is higher.  When crop prices are high interest in CRP almost evaporates.

CRP is without a doubt one of the biggest players in wildlife conservation management and has a huge effect on wildlife populations across North America. Without CRP the landscape would look very different. If you drive around in south west Minnesota, you will not find any measurable acres, with the exception of citizen owned State Wildlife Management Areas, that benefit wildlife if they are not currently in a CRP contract for which the producer gets paid.

I would like to thank every producer that participates in CRP. Without un-disturbed grasslands the creatures that live there would not just go live somewhere else. They would just plain and simple not exist at all. Payment rates for CRP today are much higher than in the past. Please take a minute to investigate the possibilities of CRP in your operation.

Every songbird and other grassland creature will say thank you for helping protect them from extinction.

  

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If you have any questions, reach out to me at scottarall@gmail.com.