This past fall, the USDA sought public comment on the future of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) – what changes should be made in terms of eligibility, payment rates, etc. That got me wondering about the history of the program (it seems like it’s been around for a long time), so I checked Wikipedia and came up with the following…
The program originally began in the 1950’s as the conservation branch of the Soil Bank Program which was enacted by the Agriculture Act of 1954. The theory behind the branch of the Soil Bank Program was to focus on lands that were at high risk of erosion, remove them from agricultural production, and establish native or alternative vegetative cover in an effort to counteract actual or potential erosion. This was considered by proponents to be beneficial to agriculture generally, by lessening the effects of erosion. Originally the program called for three-year contracts in which the government would pay for land improvements that increased soil, water, forestry, or wildlife quality if the farmer would agree not to harvest or graze contracted land.
Although the roots of the program were established in the 1950’s, advocates did not start pushing the program heavily until the 1980’s, in response to more prevalent practices in the 1970’s whereby farmers increasingly began to cultivate “fence row to fence row”, and remove native habitat and vegetative stands from the fields, which was perceived as having detrimental effects on soil, water, and habitat quality. Many programs would be established in the 1980’s to address these issues.
With most government programs, the costs begin to escalate over the years and it evolves into something that it was never intended for. Yet personally, I feel that CRP has accomplished many of its original goals – it’s taken fragile land out of production that probably never should have been tilled in the first place, and it’s improved wildlife habitat. In addition, having acres out of production mean fewer bushels to sell and higher crop prices (good for the grain farmer, not so much for livestock producers). Farm Journal has a nice article this month that frames the debate (Changes Loom for CRP).
Have your own thoughts regarding the Conservation Reserve Program? Send them to loranda@loranda.com.
