Legislation will strengthen nation’s most successful private lands conservation program
Pheasants Forever (PF) and Quail Forever (QF) are proud to support the bipartisan CRP Improvement and Flexibility Act. This bill was introduced by U.S. Senators John Thune (R-S.D.), Amy Klobuchar (D.-Minn.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), and Tina Smith (D-Minn.), who are members of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. Senators Thune and Klobuchar also serve in their respective roles as Senate Majority Leader and Ranking Member of the Committee. The bill expands upon legislation introduced in the previous Congress to strengthen the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP).
“The Conservation Reserve Program is one of our nation’s most effective tools for improving wildlife habitat, water quality, and soil health on private lands, and is a vital part of the farm safety net,” said Andrew Schmidt, Director of Government Affairs for Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever. “The CRP Improvement and Flexibility Act will make this critical program work better for farmers, ranchers, rural communities, and wildlife. PF & QF are grateful to Majority Leader Thune, Ranking Member Klobuchar, Senator Moran and Senator Smith for their continued leadership in strengthening CRP and ensuring it remains a cornerstone of private lands conservation.”
The CRP Improvement and Flexibility Act would make several critical enhancements to the program, including:
- Restoring cost-share for mid-contract management activities not related to haying or grazing;Increasing the annual payment limitation from $50,000, which was established in 1985, to $125,000 to account for changes in land values, inflation, and other economic factors;
- Providing cost-share for grazing infrastructure, including fencing and water distribution, for CRP contracts if grazing is included in the conservation plan;
- Permanently establishing the State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement practice under continuous CRP; and
- Increasing flexibility for emergency haying in times of drought and extreme weather while ensuring there is adequate cover for wildlife and forage for the following year.
“Ensuring that CRP continues to be an effective option for producers and landowners is critical to South Dakota’s agriculture industry,” Thune said. “As a longtime supporter of CRP, I’m proud to lead this commonsense legislation that would help advance the multiple-use benefits of this conservation program, including wildlife habitat and livestock forage potential.”
“The Conservation Reserve Program helps equip our farmers with the tools to conserve and improve soil, water quality, and wildlife habitat,” Klobuchar said. “This bipartisan legislation makes commonsense improvements to CRP that will strengthen conservation practices and landowner enrollment in this vital program.”