It can be a challenge to keep a farmyard’s bird feeders full, literally and financially, this time of the year. But those among us who enjoy seeing winter birds feel the tie to warmer days that those feathered beings can bring, making it all worthwhile.
The population of birds and other critters had population rebounds a few years ago when the federal Conservation Reserve Program took effect. That program offers financial incentives to farmers willing to take marginally productive land out of the crop rotation and turn it into grassed or wooded land that so benefits many species.
Folks in federal conservation offices that administer the CRP say they realize the economics about why some producers haven’t signed up for the CRP or have taken their land out of CRP. Plenty of them are saying the costs benefits are positive for farmers in many cases, though.
There are 22 million acres of rural U.S. land enrolled in the the program; the 2018 Farm Bill lifted the cap to 27 million acres to be enrolled.
Anyone interested in participating in the CRP has until Feb. 28 to enroll for the 2020 round. The enrollment can be made through local Farm Service Agency offices.
Whether farmers want to enroll any of their land in the CRP is an individual case-by-case and acre-by-acre decision — a decision that must be made only by each farmer. But the number of birds at my feeders and the other wildlife seen across our region these days indicates that past CRP enrollments have been effective.
And now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go and fill my bird feeders.
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