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Dear Editor:
The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is one of the great conservation successes of the last 25 years. It is a voluntary program for farm owners to take erosion-prone land out of production, plant soil-saving grasses and wild flowers, and receive an annual, guaranteed payment for a set number of years. It just about eliminates erosion and provides a dependable income for landowners. It provides great habitat for wildlife; wild pheasants hit peak numbers in Wisconsin when we had the most CRP acres and all sorts of birds, butterflies, and bees love CRP land. CRP lands reduce flooding, improve surface water quality, promote groundwater recharge, and even takes carbon out of the atmosphere.
My wife and I have some acres in this program and the annual payments have allowed us to enhance native vegetation. Our greatest reward though, is the wonder and joy our grandchildren show when we walk this land together.
Both Republicans and Democrats in Congress created these incentives for farmers and the environment. But we've lost thousands of CRP acres in Wisconsin, in part due to the Trump Administration decision not to fund the program's incentives. It doesn't need to be that way.
In these hard days for farmers, the option of taking highly erodible lands out of production and providing some guaranteed income would really help some farmers. Improving soil health, increasing desirable wildlife species, reducing runoff, and taking an easy step to address climate change make a lot of sense to me.
Sincerely,
Doug Steege
Town of Black Earth landowner