CRP Workshops Scheduled for Landowners

Any agricultural landowners interested in signing up for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) but who would like to learn more about the program and the options available, may attend one of the two free workshops coming to southeast Idaho. The first CRP workshop is scheduled from 3 to 5 p.m. Wednesday, March 7, at the Idaho Department of Fish and Game office at 1345 Barton Road in Pocatello. The second workshop will be from 3 to 5 p.m. Thursday, March 8, at the American Falls Library. Representatives from the Farm Service Agency, Natural Resource Conservation Service and Idaho Fish and Game will be on hand to discuss the role of CRP, provide information about the CRP sign-up process, and to answer any questions. Producers can offer land for CRP general sign-up enrollment only during designated sign-up periods. This year, landowners will be able to participate in CRP sign-up from March 12 through April 6. For more information about this workshop, contact your local Farm Service Agency office. The Pocatello Service Center of the FSA can be reached at 237-3435. In Blackfoot, call 785-2092. In American Falls, contact 226-2177. The Conservation Reserve Program is a voluntary program for agricultural landowners. Through CRP, landowners can receive annual rental payments and cost-share assistance to establish long-term, resource conserving covers on eligible farmland. CRP protects millions of acres of topsoil from erosion throughout the United States and is designed to safeguard the country's natural resources. By reducing water runoff and sedimentation, CRP protects groundwater and helps improve the condition of lakes, rivers, ponds and streams. Acreage enrolled in the CRP is planted to resource-conserving vegetative covers, making the program a benefit to wildlife populations as well.