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USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA), Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), and the State of Delaware have agreed to implement a voluntary Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) to improve the water quality of certain streams and increase wildlife habitat.
This voluntary program encourages farmers to enroll in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) in contracts of 10- to 15-years duration to remove lands from agricultural production. CRP is a CCC program implemented through FSA.
Project areas are the coastal plains in the Chesapeake, Delaware, and Inland Bays basin areas.
Delaware CREP goals are to:
- Reduce nutrient and sediment loadings in impaired streams;
- Improve water temperature and levels of dissolved oxygen, which are necessary to support biology and wildlife; and
- Increase upland wildlife habitat and create wildlife corridors.
The Delaware CREP is authorized to enroll up to 6,000 acres devoted to the following CRP practices and acreages:
- Hardwood Trees (CP3A) 500 acres
- Wildlife Habitat (CP4D) 1,000 acres
- Grass Filter Strips (CP21) 3,000 acres
- Riparian Buffers (CP21) 1,000 acres
- Wetland Restoration (CP23) 500 acres
Placement of practices must adjoin impaired streams or contributing drainage ditches in designated project areas.
CCC will pay 50 percent of the reimbursable costs of establishing conservation practices. The State of Delaware will pay an additional 37.5 percent.
Annual rental payments will be based on the soil rental rate, as calculated by FSA. - 130 percent of the county rental rate for land established to riparian buffers and hardwood trees, not to exceed $150 per acre, plus a maintenance payment; or
- 50 percent of the county rental rate for land established to wildlife habitat, grassed filter strips, and wetland restoration, not to exceed $110 per acre, plus a maintenance payment.
The State's cost-share and incentive payment will be calculated for the length of the contract and paid in its first year.
CREP applications must satisfy the basic eligibility criteria for the CRP.
Participants must agree to establish and maintain eligible practices under a 10- to 15-year contract.
Land must have been cropped 2 of the previous 5 years and be physically and legally capable of being cropped. Marginal pastureland is also eligible provided it is suitable for use as a riparian buffer planted to trees.
CREP enrollment will be on a continuous basis beginning
June 7, 1999. Interested parties are encouraged to contact the nearest USDA Service Center. The telephone number for each Delaware Service Center is:
- Kent County - (302) 697-2600, Extension 2
- New Castle County - (302) 832-3100, Extension 2
- Sussex County - (302) 856-3990, Extension 2
Further information is also available at FSA's Conservation website.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET Center at 202-720-2600 (voice and TDD).
To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C., 20250-9410, or call (202) 720-5964 (voice or TDD).
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
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