Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) IT’S FIELDTIME!... Field Field… FIELDTIME!!!

Douglas County was once again eligible to have a Conservation Reserve Program signup this spring due to the number of expiring CRP contracts over the last few years. Douglas County had around 44,000 acres available for new CRP contracts. The Douglas County Farm Service Agency (FSA) took in signups for over 69,910 acres and will be ranking the offers in the next few weeks. FSA is also taking signups for SAFE and CRP-Grasslands programs.

So, besides your FSA office being extremely busy, it looks like the local NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation Service) offices will be empty this summer as they are tasked with completing the CRP conservation plans for the accepted acres, along with status reviews for the CRP that will be expiring in 2023. NRCS employees from Douglas, Chelan and Okanogan Counties; along with the Foster Creek Conservation District and Randy Kelly (retired NRCS), will be contacting CRP contract holders and applicants for permission to access CRP fields in order to examine the existing grass stands and to develop the best possible plan of action for each field. Assistance from NRCS in other parts of the state is also likely to develop plan documents. We ask for your patience with limited staff in the office but if you have any questions, feel free to contact the Waterville Field Office at (509) 745-8561.