2015 marks the 30th Anniversary of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and in recognition of this milestone; FSA has launched a commemorative website, which I encourage you to mark on your browser’s favorites.

The web address is www.fsa.usda.gov/CRPis30. 

We hope you’ll visit the site often to take an interactive, cross-country tour and see the nationwide impact of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) unfold over the next several months.  We’re going to post 30 success stories about CRP from now until the end of the year.

If you’re among the social media users, Tweet to your friends with the hash tag #CRPis30 and direct them to the site.  

Here are some messages about our highly regarded conservation program that I would like to share with everyone:

• On Dec. 23rd, we celebrate 30 years since the program began with the signing of the 1985 Farm Bill. Thirty years is not a long time in historic record keeping, but it is a milestone we celebrate because of the major accomplishments that CRP has achieved.

• One of the principal goals of CRP was to prevent soil erosion, a concern in 1985 and still today. The program has prevented more than eight billion tons of soil from leaving farmers' fields.

• Runoff of damaging chemicals had also become a major concern in the 1980s, especially for aquatic ecosystems. CRP did much to arrest that concern. It helped reduce phosphorus runoff from cropland by 85 percent, and 95 percent of the nitrogen was stopped.

• CRP also has aided air quality in America. Forty-three million tons of greenhouse gases are prevented annually, which is equivalent to taking eight million cars off the road.

• Today, more than 170-thousand miles of streams and rivers are protected by CRP riparian and grass buffers.  Nearly 300-thousand acres of flood-plain wetlands have been created.

• CRP was expected to conserve soil in 1985, but it has done much more. It is a program everyone needs to celebrate, not just farmers, ranchers and rural America.  Urban dwellers, sportsmen and commercial fishermen are among the beneficiaries of CRP.

• CRP matters to our farmers and ranchers. They and their families are great stewards of the land because the land must be preserved for the next generation and the ones that follow.

We honor our nation's farmers and ranchers; we honor the many organizations that have supported CRP since its beginning. We are getting ready to mark an important date in our history – the creation of the Conservation Reserve Program.

Join us in thanking the thousands of farmers and ranchers who voluntarily choose to participate in CRP. And join us in celebrating the success of a program that is surpassing all expectations.

Questions?
Please contact your local FSA Office.