One of the nation’s largest private-lands conservation programs is celebrating its 30th anniversary.
Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar, author of the Conservation Reserve Program, says it has grown significantly in its 30 years.
“The amount of land that was allowed to be enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, which is specified as highly erodible, rose from 5 million acres in 1986 to 40 million acres,” he says. “This was a huge change.”
Lugar says the program is still as relevant and effective today as it was when it was first announced.
“I believe the CRP has really brought many more acres into potential production,” he says. “Acres that did not have that potential years ago.”
The Conservation Reserve Program was announced on Lugar’s farm alongside then Secretary of Agriculture John Block. President Ronald Reagan signed CRP into law on Dec. 23, 1985.
Source: www.brownfieldagnews.com