CRP acres released for grazing in states hit by flooding

WASHINGTON — U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer has released Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres for livestock grazing in counties recently designated as Presidential Disaster Areas because of flooding.

The release, announced July 7, permits grazing only in counties designated as primary and contiguous disaster areas and only because of flooding.

“Major flooding along the Mississippi River and its tributaries came at one of the worst times for agriculture,” Schafer said. “Flood waters inundated thousands of acres that cannot be salvaged for production this growing season, and it happened at a time of record crop, food and fuel prices.”

Schafer committed the resource, but added, “we must redouble our conservation effort at every future opportunity.”

Eligibility

To be approved, CRP participants must write their county Farm Service Agency office, obtain a modified conservation plan and receive county office approval before beginning to graze.

Participants will experience a 25 percent reduction in their CRP rental payments.

States with counties that will permit livestock grazing include Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

The counties within Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania are:

Indiana:

Adams, Allen, Bartholomew, Benton, Blackford, Boone, Brown, Carroll, Clark, Clay, Clinton, Crawford, Daviess, Dearborn, Decatur, Delaware, Dubois, Fayette, Floyd, Fountain, Franklin, Gibson, Grant, Greene, Hamilton, Hancock, Harrison, Hendricks, Henry, Howard, Huntington, Jackson, Jay, Jefferson, Jennings, Johnson, Knox, Lawrence, Madison, Marion, Martin, Miami, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Ohio, Orange, Owen, Parke, Pike, Posey, Putnam, Randolph, Ripley, Rush, Scott, Shelby, Sullivan, Switzerland, Tippecanoe, Tipton, Union, Vanderburgh, Vermillion, Vigo, Wabash, Warren, Warrick, Washington, Wayne, Wells, White, Whitley;

Ohio:

Butler, Darke, Hamilton, Meigs, Mercer, Monroe, Preble, Van Wert, Washington;

Pennsylvania:

Greene;

West Virginia:

Barbour, Berkeley, Braxton, Calhoun, Clay, Doddridge, Fayette, Gilmer, Grant, Greenbrier, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson, Kanawha, Lewis, Marion, Marshall, Mason, Nicholas, Pleasants, Pocahontas, Preston, Putnam, Randolph, Ritchie, Roane, Taylor, Tucker, Tyler, Upshur, Webster, Wetzel, Wirt, Wood.