The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) on Aug. 20 announced that it will seek public comments and conduct nine public meetings on the future of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP).
The public meetings are to be conducted between Sept. 15 and Oct. 8 in Washington State, Montana, Minnesota, Kansas, Illinois, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Georgia and Pennsylvania.
FSA said topics to be discussed at the public meetings include provisions dealing with cropping history requirements, crop-rotation practices, contract incentives, program enrollment terms and how to implement the lower, 32-million-acre enrollment authority for the CRP established until 2012 under the 2008 farm law. FSA said the information will be used to develop a required supplemental environmental impact statement to be used to analyze the environmental benefits and potential impacts associated with implementing various changes to CRP to comply with the 2008 farm law.
"These workshops will be important to receive feedback about how we can make the CRP more effective for producers as well as increase the environmental benefits of the program," FSA Administrator Jonathan Coppess said in a statement issued by USDA.
Public Meeting Schedule, Locations: The nine public meetings are scheduled for: 1) Sept. 15, 5:30-7:30 p.m., Hilton Garden Inn Spokane Airport, Spokane, Wash., (509) 244-5866; 2) Sept. 17, 5-7 p.m. at the Hampton Inn Great Falls, Great Falls, Mont., (406) 453-2675; 3) Sept. 21, 5-7 p.m., AmericInn Lodge and Suites, Moorhead, Minn., (218) 287-7100; 4) Sept. 23, 5-7 p.m., Clarion Hotel, Manhattan, Kan., (785) 539-5311; 5) Sept. 25, 5-7 p.m., Hilton Garden Inn Springfield, Springfield, Ill., (217) 529-7171; 6) Sept. 29, 5 - 7 p.m., Oklahoma City Marriott Hotel, Oklahoma City, Okla., (405) 879-7042; 7) Oct. 1, 5-7 p.m., La Quinta Inn and Suites, Clovis, N.M., (575) 763-8777; 8) Oct. 6, 5-7 p.m., Hilton Garden Inn, Albany, Ga., (229) 888-1590; and 9) Oct. 8, 5-7 p.m., Courtyard by Marriott, Harrisburg, Pa., (717) 558-8544.
Submitting Comments: The NGFA's International Trade/Agricultural Policy Committee will be spearheading the NGFA's activities in response to this FSA initiative. Comments are due on or before Oct. 19, 2009, and may be submitted online at: http://www.public.geo-marine.com; or through the federal electronic rulemaking portal at: http://www.regulations.gov. Comments also may be emailed or faxed directly to FSA at: CRPcomments@tecinc.com or (757) 594-1469. Mailed comments should be submitted to: CRP SEIS, c/o TEC Inc., 8 San Jose Dr., Suite 3-B, Newport News, Va., 23606.