New no-irrigate program seeks to save water, add grasslands

 No comments  
 E-mail Story
 Print Story
  Share

 digg it!
 Facebook
 del.icio.us
Seed Newsvine
Fark It
Reddit

Text Size: 

Tools Sponsor

By The Associated Press

HOLDREGE — Signup will begin April 4 for a new program that will pay some Nebraska farmers not to irrigate.

Designed to preserve water and return cropland to grass, the program is aimed at farmers living along the Republican and Platte rivers from the Wyoming border to central Nebraska.

Up to 50,000 acres will be eligible in the Republican River area; up to 10,000 acres on the North Platte River above Lake McConaughy and in a portion of the Pumpkin Creek area; and up to 40,000 acres in the Platte River area below Lake McConaughy.

The program builds on the state's first such agreement, signed in 2002, which covers all or parts of 37 central and eastern Nebraska counties. So far, farmers have signed more than 1,800 contracts under that program, protecting 19,810 acres, federal agriculture officials said.

With parts of Nebraska entering a sixth year of drought, state and federal officials devised the new plan to reduce ground and surface water irrigation.

Announced formally Saturday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and state officials, the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program will be voluntary and it will cover cropland acres in a two-mile stretch on either side of the Republican and Platte rivers and their tributaries.

"Our farmers value the choice to irrigate, and this is an important option," Gov. Dave Heineman said.

The program is expected to cost about $158 million over 15 years, with the federal government covering 80 percent of the cost; the state will pick up the rest. Farmers can sign up for periods of 10 years or 15 years to retire irrigated cropland in favor of conservation practices such as wildlife cover.

Up to 15,000 acres can be funded under the initial signup, officials said. Additional enrollments will depend on availability of funds; the agreement is subject to appropriations.

"This new CREP partnership will reduce ground and surface water use on irrigated cropland to help alleviate stress on water resources," said Floyd Gaibler, under secretary of the U.S. Agriculture Department.

It also will improve water quality and enhance wildlife habitat, Gaibler said.

Planners hope to provide up to 85,000 more acres of grassland habitat for wildlife and increase by about 25 percent the area populations of pheasants and other ground nesting birds.

Signup for the program will begin April 4 at state and county Farm Service Agency offices and will last through Dec. 31, 2007, or until enrollment goals are met.