U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Announces Conservation Reserve Program Opportunity

The Conservation Reserve Program will be opening its doors to landowners throughout Montana and the U.S. States in the next few months.

Executive Director of the Farm Service Agency, Bruce Nelson says "Montana currently has 11,140 contracts on more than 2 million acres enrolled in CRP making it the fourth largest CRP state in the United States. In 2012, Montana CRP participants received more than $91.7 million dollars."

Bruce Nelson:

Those who opt into the program must set aside land and install resource conservation  covers for 10 or 15 year periods. During that time they will reap anywhere between 20 and 30 dollars per acre per year for the set-aside land.

In September, the CRP contracts on over 360,000 acres of land will expire.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsak announced today, February 19, that general sign up for the program would begin on May 20th and last for four weeks. Nelson says other similar programs are available for applicants all year round.