03/16/05 GRP sign up focuses on rentals

Washington Ag March 16, 2005 The value Americans place on open space can turn green grass into greenbacks for agricultural producers. The Grassland Reserve Program, or GRP, rewards farmers and ranchers practicing proper grassland management. And another sign up for the voluntary GRP began in Washington March 14th and runs through April 29th. Rod Hamilton of the State Farm Services Agency Office says it's hoped more producers will be able to participate in the program with this sign up as the focus is shifting from easements to rental agreements. Hamilton: "An easement, the payment is based on the value of the land as grassland compared to its value as a housing development or something like that and then the development rights are purchased for the property for either 30 years or permanently. Rental agreements can be 10, 15, or 30 years. We pay a relatively low fee, somewhere in the range of $8 to $16 per acre per year and the producer does not have the chance to convert the land during that time, but he can continue to graze it." To participate in the GRP, producers must offer private land that includes at least 40 contiguous acres of grassland and there is a cap of 320 acres For more information contact you local USDA Service Center. I'm Bob Hoff.