U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) North Dakota Farm Service Agency (FSA) Executive Director Aaron Krauter announced today that a public meeting will be held on August 6th at the Courtyard by Marriot in Moorhead, Minnesota to solicit comments on a recently completed draft analysis that examines the potential environmental impacts of changes to the Conversation Reserve Program (CRP) enacted by the 2014 Farm Bill.
CRP encourages farmers and ranchers to establish long-term vegetative species, such as grasses or trees, on environmentally sensitive farmland to help reduce soil erosion, improve water quality and develop wildlife habitat. The draft environmental analysis was prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in 1970, which requires federal government agencies to review the environmental effects of proposal federal actions.
FSA has scheduled five public meetings to provide opportunities for public comment. Stakeholders interested in farmland conversation are invited to attend, and FSA representatives will be available to answer questions. The meetings will be at the
Holiday Inn, 1100 5th Street, Great Falls, Montana 59501 on August 4, at 6:00 p.m.- 8:00p.m.
The draft environmental analysis can be reviewed online at: http://crpspeis.com. For questions, producers should contact their FSA officer information online at http://crpspeis.com/Resources/Documents/CRP_SPEIS_Draft_NOA.pdf and http://www.fsa.usda.gov http://www.fsa.usda.gov.
Today’s announcement was made possible through the 2014 Farm Bill, which builds on historic economic gains in rural America over the past five years, while achieving meaningful reform and billions of dollars in saving or the taxpayer. Since the enactment, USDA has made significant progress to implement each provision of this critical legislation, including providing disaster relief to farmers and ranchers; strengthening rick management tools; expanding access to rural credit; funding critical research; establishing innovative public-private conversation partnerships; developing new markets for rural-made products; and investing in infrastructure, housing and commuting facilities to help improve the quality of life in rural America. For more information, visit http://www.usda.gov/farmbill http://www.usda.gov/farmbill
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