Farm Service Agency
Public Affairs Staff
1400 Independence Ave SW
Stop 0506, Room 3624-South
Washington, D.C. 20250-0506
Release No. 1526.05

 
Jillene Johnson (202) 720-9733

 
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS: CONSERVATION RESERVE ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM - MINNESOTA II April 22, 2005

 
1. What is the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program?

 
The Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) is a Federal-State natural resource conservation program that addresses State and nationally significant agricultural- related environmental problems. Under CREP, program participants receive financial incentives from USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) to voluntarily enroll in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) in contracts of 10 to 15 years. Participants remove cropland and marginal pastureland from agricultural production and convert the land to native grasses, trees, and other vegetation. CRP is authorized by the Food Security Act of 1985, as amended.

 
2. What is the Minnesota CREP II?

 
The CREP Minnesota II will help farmers enhance water quality, reduce soil erosion, increase flood damage reduction/storage and enhance wildlife habitat of the Red River, the Lower Mississippi and the Missouri/Des Moines River watersheds in northwestern, southeastern, and southwestern Minnesota. The program will seek to address conservation issues by planting environmentally sensitive cropland to native grasses, trees, and other vegetation.

 
3. What are the potential benefits of the Minnesota CREP II?

 
The CREP Minnesota II will reduce runoff of sediments, nutrients, pesticides and pathogens from agricultural sources entering state's waters. The Minnesota CREP II will also increase water storage capacity and enhance wildlife habitat through the establishment of wetlands and planting primarily native vegetation.

 
4. What are the goals?

 
The goals of the CREP Minnesota II are to:

 
  • Reduce sediment loading in the three targeted watersheds when fully implemented by 420,000 tons per year;

 
  • Reduce nitrogen loading in streams and rivers by 3,000,000 pounds per year;

 
  • Reduce phosphorus loading in streams and rivers by 530,000 pounds per year;

 
  • Enroll a total of 120,000 eligible cropland acres;

 
  • Enroll and establish up to 61,897 acres of riparian buffers to help protect 2,500 linear miles of streams, rivers and ditches in the CREP and State 45-year RIM easements;

 
  • Enroll and establish up to 8,195 acres of eligible cropland in the CREP and state 45 year Reinvest in Minnesota (RIM) easement practices that will enhance water quality entering sensitive ground water areas and help protect drinking water supplies of 250,000 people;

 
  • Enroll and establish up to 24,000 acres of wetland practices and adjacent uplands in the CREP and state 45-year RIM easements to help reduce flood damage by increasing water storage capacity by 10,000 to 20,00 acre feet per year;

 
  • Enroll and restore up to 5,000 acres of flood-damaged cropland through CREP and state permanent RIM easements;

 
  • Enroll up to 18,058 acres of excessively erodible cropland with an erodibility Index (EI) of 15 or greater to reduce soil erosion and achieve related high-priority natural resource benefits;

 
  • Enroll up to 2,850 acres of highly erodible cropland with an EI of 8 or greater to help reduce soil erosion though the use of contour buffer strips.

 
5. What are eligible areas and land eligibility requirements?

 
Landowners can offer for enrollment in CREP eligible cropland within one of the three approved watershed project areas.

 
To be eligible, cropland must meet cropping history criteria and be physically and legally capable of being cropped in a normal manner.

 
Persons who have acreage under an existing CRP contract or an approved offer with a contract pending are ineligible for CREP on that acreage until that contract expires. Other requirements will also apply. Interested producers should contact their local FSA county office for specific information regarding their eligibility for CREP.

 
6. When is the sign-up and how long does land remain under contract?

 
Sign-up for the CREP is scheduled to begin June 6, 2005, and will continue until enrollment goals are met, or through December 31, 2007, whichever comes first.

 
Land enrolled in the program remains under contract for a period of 14 to 15 years, as specified in the contract.

 
7. What conservation measures are approved for the CREP?

 
To better serve program goals, the following CRP conservation practices are approved for one or more watersheds within the CREP Minnesota II:

 
  • CP2 - Establishment of Permanent Native Grasses

 
  • CP3A - Hardwood Tree Planting

 
  • CP4D - Permanent Wildlife Habitat

 
  • CP12 - Wildlife Food Plot

 
  • CP15A - Establishment of Permanent Vegetative Cover (Contour Grass Strips)

 
  • CP21 - Filter Strips

 
  • CP22 - Riparian Buffer

 
  • CP23 - Wetland Restoration

 
  • CP23A - Wetland Restoration, Non-Floodplain

 
  • CP34 - Structure for Flood Control

 

 
8. What payments is FSA offering?

 
Subject to contract terms and certain limitations, Minnesota CREP II participants will be eligible for the following types of FSA payments:

 
  • Annual rental payments determined by calculating the normal CRP weighted average soil rental rate for the three predominant soil types using the current posted applicable local soil rental rates.

 
  • Maintenance payment as part of the soil rental rate determined according to FSA's published national CRP directives.

 
  • An incentive payment to participants as part of the annual rental payment of 30 percent of the maximum annual rental payment. Example: $100 per acre Calculated Soil Rental Rate x 1.3 incentive = $130. In this example, the incentive is $30 per acre per year.

 
  • 50 percent of the eligible reimbursable costs to establish CREP conservation practices.

 
  • A one-time Signing Incentive Payment (SIP) of $10 for each eligible acre enrolled for each full year of the contract for CRP practices currently eligible to receive a SIP payment according to FSA's published national CRP directives. A 14- to 15-year contract with an eligible practice would receive $150 per acre.

 
  • A one-time Practice Incentive Payment (PIP) equal to 40 percent of the total eligible cost of practice installation for CRP practices currently eligible to receive a PIP payment according to FSA's published national CRP directives.

 
  • A one-time incentive payment equal to 25 percent of the cost of restoring the hydrology of the site for practices CP23 and CP23A.

 
9. What is the cost of the program?

 
The total cost over a 14- to 15-year period is about $250 million with FSA contributing $200 million and the State funding $50 million. The $250 million does not include any costs that may be assumed by producers.

 
10. Can I still enroll in general CRP and continuous sign-up CRP?

 
Yes. CREP is another option under CRP that farmers may select to enhance their land; producers may enroll eligible land in the general CRP or continuous sign-up CRP. However, CREP provides additional benefits not available through the general and/or continuous sign-up. For instance, CREP payments are at a higher effective rate.

 
11. Can I hay or graze my CREP land?

 
Haying and grazing are not permitted during the CRP contract period unless FSA allows them for emergency or managed haying and grazing purposes, if applicable, under normal CRP rules.

 
12. The Minnesota CREP encompasses what areas?

 
Three watershed areas : the Lower Mississippi Watershed in southeast Minnesota, the Missouri/Des Moines Watershed in southwest Minnesota and the Red River Watershed in northwest Minnesota. All or a portion of 47 counties are included in the eligible areas as follows: Blue Earth, Goodhue, Wabasha, Dodge, Olmsted, Winona, Mower, Fillmore, Houston, Dakota, Scott, Rice, Le Sueur, Waseca, Steele, Faribault, Freeborn, Rock, Nobles, Lincoln, Lyon, Pipestone, Murray, Cottonwood, Jackson, Martin, Kittson, Marshall, Pennington, Red Lake, Polk, Norman, Mahnomen, Clay, Wilkin, Roseau, Lake of the Woods, Beltrami, Koochiching, Itasca, Clearwater, Becker, East Otter, Grant, Stevens, Traverse, and Big Stone.

 
13. Where can I get more information?

 
More information on the CREP Minnesota II is available at local USDA Service Centers and on FSA's Web site at: www.fsa.usda.gov.

 
NOTE: The Farm Service Agency's (FSA) news releases and media advisories are available on the Web at FSA's home page: http://www.fsa.usda.gov