CRP sign-up starts next month

Sign-up for a new round for the Farm Service Agency’s Conservation Reserve Program, or CRP, begins next month.

CRP allows landowners to enroll farm land in 10 to 15 year contracts with the goal of preserving environmentally sensitive land, explained Tory Bye, new director of Whitman County’s FSA office. Producers receive annual rental payments from the USDA and up to 50 percent of the cost to establish CRP management practices.

Sign-up runs from March 12 through April 6.

Rental rates are based on the relative productivity of soils and the average cash rent of a piece of property.

Land is score...