Small Farm News - Oregon Small Farms - Oregon State University

Conservation Opportunity for LandownersConservation Reserve Program Opens Sign-upsThe general signup for the Conservation ReserveProgram (CRP) began on March 14, 2011, andcontinues through April 15, 2011. This is the secondconsecutive year that USDA has offered a general CRPsignup.Through CRP, eligible landowners receive annualrental payments and cost-share assistance to establishlong-term, resource conserving covers on eligiblefarmland. Land can be enrolled for a period of up to15 years. During the general signup period, farmersand ranchers may offer eligible land at their countyFarm Service Agency (FSA) office. Land currently notenrolled in CRP may be offered in this signup providedall eligibility requirements are met. Additionally,current CRP participants with contracts expiring thisfall may make new contract offers. Contracts awardedunder this signup are scheduled to become effectiveOct. 1, 2011. The general sign-up for CRP will notaffect cropped acres for this growing season. Acreswill be enrolled in the program in the fall.The FSA implements CRP on behalf of CommodityCredit Corporation. FSA will evaluate and rankeligible CRP offers using an Environmental BenefitsIndex (EBI) that shows the environmental benefits tobe gained from enrolling the land in CRP. The EBIconsists of five environmental factors (wildlife, water,soil, air and enduring benefits) and cost. Decisions onthe EBI cutoff will be made after the sign-up ends andafter analyzing the EBI data of all the offers.In addition to the general sign-up, CRP’s continuoussign-up program will be ongoing. Continuous acresrepresent the most environmentally desirable andsensitive land. For more information, visit http://www.fsa.usda.gov/crp.CRP protects millions of acres of American topsoilfrom erosion and is designed to safeguard the Nation’snatural resources. By reducing water runoff andsedimentation, CRP protects groundwater and helpsimprove the condition of lakes, rivers, ponds, andstreams. Acreage enrolled in the CRP is planted toresource-conserving vegetative covers, making theprogram a major contributor to increased wildlifepopulations in many parts of the country. Through the2008 Farm Bill, CRP is authorized for a maximumenrollment of 32 million acres. USDA estimatesthat contracts on 3.3 million to 6.5 million acres arescheduled to expire annually between now and 2014.USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender.To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, AssistantSecretary for Civil Rights, Office of the Assistant Secretaryfor Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Stop 9410,Washington, DC 20250-9410, or call toll-free at (866) 632-9992(English) or (800) 877-8339 (TDD) or (866) 377-8642 (EnglishFederal-relay) or (800) 845-6136 (Spanish Federal-relay). USDAis an equal opportunity provider and employer.2011 OSU Small Farms ConferenceWas a SuccessSix hundred and twenty five people attended, and once againwe broke the attendance record. The conference was held onFebruary 26th in Corvallis. Chuck Hassebrook, Center for RuralAffairs, was the keynote speaker. Congressman Kurt Schraderof Oregon’s 5 th congressional district was capnote speaker.The conference included three concurrent tracks of sevensessions each. An entire track of three sessions was devoted tomeat production for niche markets; topics included productionchallenges, processing considerations, and managing nichemarketing relationships. Combined with a Sunday carcassbreakdown workshop, these combined sessions made a nichemeat short course. Similarly, a full track was devoted to theprofessional development of farmers’ markets managers, andincluded on-farm visits to verify product source, Oregon’s farmdirect bill and its impact on farmers’ markets, and increasingmarket access to clientele receiving electronic benefits.Fifty percent of participants described themselves as farmersor ranchers, and indicated this was the first Small FarmsConference they had attended.Sponsorships and grants enabled us to set an affordableregistration fee. Sponsors included the Oregon Departmentof Human Services-WIC Program, Oregon Department ofAgriculture, USDA-Western SARE, and the Cascade-PacificRC&D.Next year’s conference is scheduled forSaturday, 25 February, 2012.Oregon Small Farm News Vol. VI No. 2 Page 15