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CREP After
many, many years of discussion and negotiations between the USDA and
the NJDA this past March saw the unveiling of New Jersey’s
Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP). The program, under
the supervision of the Farm Service Agency and the New Jersey
Department of Agriculture will have just 3 years to obligate 100
million dollars allocated to New Jersey’s CREP. That is a lot of
money, but the agencies will have no trouble disseminating these funds
with such a comprehensive program. The
program is loaded with cost-share and incentive payments, to the tune
of 100% of the practice cost plus up to 250% annual county soil rental
rate. The program focuses on four core practices: 1.
Grass Waterway 2.
Contour Grass Strips 3.
Filter Strips 4.
Riparian buffers Riparian
buffers receive the largest incentive payments, while the rest still
receive considerable incentives. Practice Payments are broken down as
follows: w
50% USDA cost-share w
40% USDA incentive payment o
PIP – Practice
Incentive Payment; One time payment equal to 40% of approved
conservation practices w
10% NJDA cost-share That’s
100 % of the project cost!
Additionally CREP address losses from taking land out of production with annual rental payment (practice length 10 to 15 yrs.) or permanent easement purchases. Permanent easements however are only available to those farms currently going into a state preservation program. Farm already in preservation will be able to enroll for a permanent easement in the near future. On top of rental and incentive payments the program includes a Signing Incentive Payment, a one time payment of $100 to $150 per acre for practices 1, 3, and 4 above. CREP
is so comprehensive that the riparian buffers practice can include
components such as, exclusionary fencing for livestock, livestock
watering facilities & well, heavy use area protection, and livestock
stream crossing all with 100% of the costs covered (cost-share and
incentive payments), compared with EQIP’s 50% cost-share. And unlike
EQIP there is no ranking, so if you are eligible then you will be
funded. All
cropland which is legally farmable is eligible. This excludes lands that
are already enrolled in some federal programs like EQIP for these
practices (but not CRP), as well a acreage that might be regulated under
a municipal buffer or stream corridor ordinance that does not allow for
agricultural use. This is something to keep in mind as municipalities
will enacted such ordinances to comply with their stormwater permits.
Furthermore
land must have been in agriculture for 4 out of the last 6 years (crop
years 1996 – 2001), and must be under the control of the
farmer/owner/landowner for the life of the practice (at least 10 yrs.)
In the past this has excluded those farming state owned land from such
programs. For this program however the state will offer its farmers
leases to cover the length of the CREP contract to allow them to enroll.
The land must also be under the same possession/lease for at least one
year prior to sign up, except in cases of inheritance. The landowner
must also provide the tenant the opportunity to participate in his/her
CREP agreement, which would include both their name on the contract and
a share of the incentive payments, as per their agreement. In cases
where the state the landowner or where the landowner is ineligible due
to income ceilings (There are eligibility restrictions based on
income.), the contract could show a zero share for the landowner. These
rules are intended to protect tenant farmers/operators from having their
land base reduced without compensation. Paul
Hlubik, State Executive Director of Farm Service Agency, sums it up with
the following words, “This is a win times four, in that it’s farmer
friendly, land owner friendly, environmentally friendly, and a 100
million dollar boon to the state’s economy.” Overall,
CREP is undeniably a comprehensive program that encourages conservation
with the carrot not the stick, cost-share, rental and incentive payments
that are more than attractive and is being offered in a
political/environmental climate in which it is almost a necessity to
take advantage of. For more information please contact your county FSA office, Conservation District, or the Farm Bureau (609-393-7163). Additional information on CREP and other USDA programs is also available on the FSA website at http://www.fsa.usda.gov/nj/ (Scroll to the bottom of the page.). Submitted by Gabi Grunstein, New Jersey Farm Bureau
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