[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 106 (Friday, June 3, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32564-32565]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-11128]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Farm Service Agency


Meeting Entitled ``Conservation Reserve Program: Re-enrollments 
and Extensions''

AGENCY: Farm Service Agency, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of a meeting on the Conservation Reserve Program.

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SUMMARY: USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) is hosting a public meeting 
on re-enrollment and extension of certain Conservation Reserve Program 
(CRP) contracts. The CRP is the Nation's largest conservation program.

DATES: June 24, 2005.

ADDRESSES: The conference will be held at the Animal & Plant Health 
Inspection Service (APHIS), USDA Conference Center, 4700 River Road, 
Riverdale, Maryland 20737. The facility is located

[[Page 32565]]

near the College Park Metro Station, or parking is available nearby for 
$2.25.

For Further Information on the Conservation Reserve Program Contact: 
John Carter, Farm Service Agency, USDA, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., 
STOP 0513, Washington, DC 20250-0513; telephone: (202) 720-8774; FAX 
(202) 720-4619; e-mail: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER MEETING INFORMATION CONTACT: Matthew Ponish, Farm Service 
Agency, USDA, 1400 Independence Ave., SW., STOP 0513, Washington, DC 
20250-0513; telephone: (202) 720-6853; FAX: (202) 720-4619; e-mail: 
[email protected] regarding conference questions. Persons 
with disabilities who require special accommodation to attend or 
participate in the conference should contact Toni Paris, telephone: 
(301) 734-8010 by June 16, 2005.

Conference Registration: Meeting attendees must register in advance 
online at http://www.fsa.usda.gov/dafp/cepd/public_meeting/register.htm. There is no charge to attend the meeting. Because space 
is limited and for security purposes, advance registration is required 
and all attendees will need to present a valid picture ID to enter the 
building. Conference details, including registration, meeting agenda, 
hotel accommodations and directions are available on FSA's Web site at: 
http://www.fsa.usda.gov/dafp/cepd/public_meeting/information.htm or 
from Matthew Ponish at (202) 720-6853; e-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: First established in 1985, the CRP is a 
voluntary program, funded by the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), 
encouraging farmers to implement conservation practices on 
environmentally-sensitive agricultural land to reduce soil erosion, 
protect water quality and enhance wildlife habitat. The CRP has 
provided significant environmental benefits across the nation, 
primarily by providing wildlife habitat, improving stream quality, and 
reducing soil erosion. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is committed 
to full enrollment up to the authorized level of 39.2 million acres. To 
ensure that the environmental benefits of CRP continue, and because of 
the significant number of contract expirations beginning in 2007, the 
FSA will offer early re-enrollments and extensions of existing 
contracts to current CRP participants.
    About 35 million acres are currently enrolled in the CRP. Over 16 
million acres of CRP contracts expire in 2007, over 6 million acres 
expire in 2008, and 6 million acres in 2009 and 2010. Determining the 
future direction of the CRP is thus critical.
    CCC published a notice in the Federal Register on August 10, 2004 
[69 FR 48447] seeking public comment on a number of issues involving 
the large number of expiring CRP contracts, such as how to best stagger 
contract expirations using re-enrollments and extensions over several 
years and under what criteria.
    In response to the FR notice, CCC received over 5,000 comments from 
a total of 570 individuals, agencies, and organizations. A majority of 
the comments received pertained to extending a contract for a certain 
length of time (question 1) and renewing a contract without competition 
(question 5). However, before proceeding with changes in the CRP 
implementation, CCC has determined that a public meeting should be held 
in order to solicit additional comments as well as provide a forum for 
open discussion of the following two topics:
    Topic 1. How should CCC address the large number of expiring CRP 
contracts and their associated acres in a manner that achieves the most 
environmental benefits but is also administratively feasible and cost-
effective? What methods should be pursued that would address the large 
acreage expiring beginning in 2007 (for example, how could CCC stagger 
the contract expirations over several-year intervals and what criteria 
could CCC use to select and extend contracts)?
    Topic 2. If CCC offered CRP re-enrollment without competition, how 
could it ensure that program goals are achieved in a manner that 
results in the most environmental benefits but is also administratively 
feasible and cost effective? How could CCC determine which contracts 
and acres would be most environmentally valuable to re-enroll in the 
CRP without competition through a standard Environmental Benefits Index 
ranking process?

AGENDA: The meeting will be structured around the two primary issues 
regarding expiring contracts and re-enrollment. Information and 
presentations will help establish the scope of the meeting and focus 
the facilitated discussion on the primary topics outlined in this 
notice.

    Signed in Washington, DC May 26, 2005.
James R. Little,
Administrator, Farm Service Agency.
[FR Doc. 05-11128 Filed 5-31-05; 3:18 pm]
BILLING CODE 3410-05-P