Farmers Save Environmentally-Sensitive Farmland With CRP

The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), administered by the USDA-Farm Service agency, is the Federal Governments single largest environmental improvement program on privately owned farms. The purpose of the CRP is to retire the most environmentally sensitive row cropped land and marginal pastureland from production. The retired acreage is converted to permanent covers. As of October 1, 2000, South Carolina will have over 200,000 acres under active CRP contracts.

Most of the acreage is devoted to trees.  Although CRP originally was designed to prevent soil erosion, it has been expanded throughout the years to address water quality and wildlife concerns. South Carolina is the top state in the Southeast for installing riparian buffers adjacent to waterbodies through CRP for water quality protection. In 1998 a Longleaf Pine National Priority Area was designated for CRP to protect the Longleaf Pine Ecosystem. In 1994, only 3.4 percent of the original Longleaf Pine forests were still existing. The Longleaf Pine ecosystem involves one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world that includes 36 species of mammals, 86 species of birds, 34 species of amphibians, 38 species of reptiles, 4,500 species of anthropods, and over 1,200 species of plants. In South Carolina, over 25,000 acres of Longleaf pine plantations will be established though the Conservation Reserve Program.

Producers selected for participation in the Conservation Reserve Program receive annual rental payments for a 10 to 15 year period and cost-share assistance to establish the permanent cover. Each year South Carolina Farm Service Agency issues CRP rental payments in excess of $7 million and CRP cost share assistance of approximately $500,000.

But how do landowners feel about the program?

The Bamberg County Farm Service Agency (FSA) Office has a lot of producer participation in conservation programs. In fact, Bamberg County has 15,114 acres in the CRP, 226 acres in the Wetland Reserve Program, and 30 contracts in the Environmental Quality Incentives Program. CED Chris Wallace recently talked to several local CRP producers and asked them what the CRP program means to them. He received some enthusiastic responses.

Buddy Welch of Erhardt has several CRP contracts. He planted 196 acres of longleaf pines on one and created wildlife openings on two other CRP contracts. Welch said, “The wildlife openings are very accessible, and the wildlife love them. It has been worth the effort to establish them, and the financial benefits have also been good.”  He received 50% cost-share to help establish the longleaf pines in addition to his annual rental payments.

In Bamberg, James Layden has a CRP contract with 213 acres of loblolly pines. The population of turkeys and deer on his farm has increased because he established wildlife openings.  Layden signed up his 10-year-old CRP trees in the 19th CRP enrollment. He said, “Allowing CRP trees to be re-enrolled has saved many farmers from going out of business.”

Sonny Zorn of Denmark has reached retirement and is handicapped. In the past few years, he has gone from row crops to pasture to CRP trees. Trees involve much less intensive work and CRP rental payments provide money to pay the taxes on his land. He has planted sawtooth oaks and longleaf pines in addition to opening up wildlife areas. “Turkey, deer, and quail have really taken to the wildlife openings,” Zorn said. “ I want to leave the land in better shape than I found it."  The CRP program has helped him accomplish that goal.

back