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NEWS Farm Service Agency Public Affairs Staff 1400 Independence Ave SW Stop 0506, Room 3624-South Washington, D.C. 20250-0506
Release No. 1442.07
Stevin Westcott (202) 720-4178
Documents Provide New Information on Benefits of CRP
WASHINGTON, April 12, 2007 - USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) Administrator Teresa Lasseter today announced the release of two new reports online that contain valuable information about the benefits of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP).
"There is a significant amount of interest in CRP this year given strong market conditions and the possibility of a new farm bill," said Lasseter. "These documents shed new light on CRP's benefits at a time when the future and direction of the program are discussed nationally."
CRP Annual Report
The 2006 CRP annual report, titled "CRP Enrollment Statistics and Program Summary," is now available on the World Wide Web at: http://www.fsa.usda.gov/Internet/FSA_File/06rpt.pdf. It contains information not previously included in earlier reports such as a summary of CRP's benefits, and it provides details about land under CRP contract as of Sept. 30, 2006.
Among the new information is a summary that provides figures on CRP's reduction of soil erosion, enhancement of water quality and expansion and improvement of wildlife habitat. For example, the summary explains that CRP reduces soil erosion by an estimated 450 million tons per year, compared with pre-CRP erosion rates. The summary offers details on how CRP acreage sequesters carbon and restores and protects wetlands. The annual report also includes a synopsis of CRP activity in Fiscal Year (FY) 2006. Additionally, the document contains tables showing the erodibility index of CRP-enrolled acres for every state and sign-up as of FY 2006.
The 2006 CRP annual report includes data that has not been published since 2001 such as: - Enrollment indices for six general sign-ups held between 1997 and 2004;
- The number of acres in general conservation practices per state as of FY 2006;
- Data on specific types of conservation practices per state as of FY 2006; and
- A legislative and programmatic history.
Study on CRP's Air, Water and Soil Carbon Benefits
Lasseter also announced today that a new nationwide study now available demonstrates, among other things, that enrolling marginal cropland in CRP increases the amount of organic matter on enrolled fields and virtually eliminates soil and nutrient loss. The study, titled "Estimating Water Quality, Air Quality and Soil Carbon Benefits of the Conservation Reserve Program," is found on FSA's Web site at: http://www.fsa.usda.gov/Internet/FSA_File/606586_hr.pdf.
FSA conducted the study in cooperation with the University of Missouri's College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources/Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute.
Here are the report's major findings for states in the eastern half of the U.S. (adjoining and east of the Mississippi River): - Researchers estimate soil, nitrogen and phosphorus losses from field-practice enrollments are 6.5 tons, 20.7 pounds and 5.4 pounds, respectively, per acre lower annually compared with acres engaged in current production practices.
- Buffer practices in a watershed stop the loss of 3.1 tons of soil, 8.1 pounds of nitrogen and 1.4 pounds of phosphorus per acre of cropland in the watershed each year.
For the western half of the nation, researchers found: - Field practices significantly reduce damage from wind erosion. Specifically 13.1 tons, 21.7 pounds and 6.0 pounds less soil, nitrogen and phosphorous, respectively, are stripped off fields annually.
In addition, CRP promotes carbon sequestration by reducing soil loss. Field practices provide an average nationwide net increase of 1,400 pounds of total organic carbon per acre each year.
The study differs from previous studies in one or more of the following ways: - The amount of soil and nutrients actually leaving a field or watershed is estimated rather than the amounts mobilized on the field, some of which may not actually leave the field. These provide a better indicator of CRP's benefits that accrue in neighboring waters or adjoining lands.
- The model uses daily weather events and day-to-day management decisions to capture weather variability.
- The report compares the effect of field and buffer practices.
- The study is national in scope.
FSA implements CRP on behalf of USDA's Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC). CRP is the nation's largest private-lands conservation program with more than 36 million acres enrolled. Through CRP, farmers and ranchers enroll eligible land in 10 to 15 year contracts. Participants plant appropriate cover such as grasses and trees in crop fields and along streams. The plantings help prevent soil and nutrients from running into regional waterways and affecting water quality. The long-term vegetative cover also improves wildlife habitat and soil quality.
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NOTE: FSA news releases are available on FSA's Web site at: http://www.fsa.usda.gov.
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