The USDA announced the first general signup for the Conservation Reserve, which pays landowners an annual rent to idle fragile cropland for at least 10 years, since the 2014 farm law limited the reserve to a maximum of 24 million acres. The department also announced that 800,000 acres would be accepted into the reserve through the so-called continuous signup for work that yields high environmental benefits, such as planting buffer strips or windbreaks. As the name suggests, land can be enrolled at any time under the continuous-enrollment option.
Congress lowered the cap on Conservation Reserve land in response to the agriculltural boom of the past decade that increased demand for land in production.
During a general signup, landowners submit offers on larger tracts and the USDA picks the land offering the highest environmental return at the lowest cost. The signup will be Dec. 1, 2015-Feb. 26, 2016.
Other than the 800,000 acres available for continuous enrollment, the USDA did not say how much land it was seeking for the reserve. At present, 24.26 million acres are enrolled, with contracts expiring on 1.92 million acres on Sept. 30. Landowners have the option to ask for a one-year extension of an expiring contract. Under the farm law, the ceiling on enrollment becomes 24 million acres on Oct. 1, 2016.
The USDA said the continuous enrollment would aim at wetland and wildlife initiatives. The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition said, “We expect the majority of the 800,000 acres to be enrolled through the State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement (SAFE) initiative and Duck Nesting Habitat initiatve.”
The Conservation Reserve was created in 1985 during the agricultural recession. Enrollment is highest among Plains states. Texas, Kansas, Colorado, Montana and North Dakota account for 10 million acres, or 41 percent, of land in the reserve. Overall, $1.6 billion a year is paid to landowners, an average of $66.53 an acre. The highest rentals are paid on continuous enrollment land, which is a quarter of total enrollment. Officials credit the reserve for preventing 8 billion tons of soil erosion, reducing nutrient runoff and restoring wildlife habitat.