Northwest Iowa — Northwest Iowa farmers who agree to use sustainable grazing practices may be eligible to take part in the updated Conservation Reserve Program, or CRP, for grasslands.
Katie Olthoff of the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association says the program is a change to the federal CRP. She says it now includes a grasslands program nationally. That means farmers can use their grasslands areas for grazing, as long as they agree to certain conservation practices on that land.
Farmers who are interested can sign up immediately, by applying at their local FSA Office. The application period runs through November 20th, but she says there will be more application periods after that time. She says that, while CRP has been around for years, this is the first time the new extension has been around. She says the CRP Grasslands program was created in the 2014 Farm Bill, but there have been some changes just this summer in the July 2015 edition of the Federal Register, so this is the first time it’s been available for Iowa’s farmers. You can learn more about the program at the Iowa Cattlemen’s website.
