The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today that the new Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) general sign-up will run Monday, August 2nd through Friday, August 27th. Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever Farm Bill Biologists are prepared to work with landowners through the entire sign-up period.

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary, Tom Vilsack, recently announced that USDA will offer an opportunity for general enrollment of lands in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) later this year.

Today at Pheasants Forever’s National Pheasant Fest, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced plans for a new Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) general signup. Secretary Vilsack also announced increased acreage allotments for three CRP practices significant to wildlife, and then signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Pheasants Forever.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced that one of their policy options under consideration is to drop Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) enrollment to 24 million acres nationwide. In Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever's view, this is completely unacceptable and we urge all of our members and supporters to take immediate action by contacting the USDA in opposition of this proposal.

Many Conservation Reserve Program contracts are due to expire this September, and landowners need to give careful consideration as to what comes next for once highly erodible land, according to Texas AgriLife Extension Service personnel.

The 2008-2009 pheasant season has ended or is winding down in a few states as quickly as the temperatures outside have been plummeting. To date, the winter of 2008-2009 has been harsher than recent years in many places across the pheasant range. This has created a myriad of inquiries to Pheasants Forever's offices from people concerned about pheasant populations.

Pheasants Forever was pleased by three recent major announcements related to the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) announced by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). First, the USDA launched new incentive payments for landowners who open up their CRP to public access. Second, the USDA announced it has updated CRP soil rental rates. Both announcements came in a week when the USDA also released a study highlighting the immense benefits of CRP.