West Virginia landowners interested in restoring, enhancing or protecting grasslands may receive funding through the Grassland Reserve Program (GRP). Landowners must have their applications submitted to their local Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Office or Farm Service Agency (FSA) Office at the local USDA Service Center by close of business on March 10, 2010, to be considered for rental contract funding this year. GRP has a continuous signup period, however, applications submitted after March 10, will not be ranked until the next ranking period is announced.

GRP provides financial assistance to producers in the form of rental agreements and easements. GRP provides funding to purchase conservation easements, long term rental agreements, and offers landowners the opportunity to protect, restore, and enhance the grasslands on their property. The program emphasizes support for working grazing operations, enhancement of plant and animal biodiversity, and protection of grassland and land containing shrubs and forbs under threat of conversion.

For GRP, the 2008 Farm Bill provides priority for enrollment of expiring acreage from the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and is limited to 10 percent of the total acres enrolled in any year. Eligible lands can be enrolled into a permanent easement or a rental contract of 10, 15, or 20 years. Restoration agreements based on a 50 percent cost-share may be placed on land enrolled under a rental contract or easement. Easement compensation is based on the Geographic Area Rate Cap or on an offer made by the landowner, whichever is less.

NRCS and FSA encourage landowners who are interested in this voluntary program to contact the USDA Service Center/NRCS/FSA Office to submit an application as soon as possible. Additional information on GRP and other conservation programs is available on the Internet at www.wv.nrcs.usda.gov. You may also contact Pam Yost, NRCS Assistant State Conservationist for Programs, pamela.yost@wv.usds.gov.

I also want to remind everyone that the deadline to apply for the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) is March 15, 2010, for 2010 annual crops, including produce crops. The application and service fee must be filed by the March 15 deadline. NAP is basically crop insurance for uninsurable crops and works similarly to the CAT level of crop insurance.

The service fee is $250 per crop per county not to exceed $750 per producer per county. The total fee cannot exceed $1,875 per producer for all counties.

The deadline for crop insurance on insurable crops is also March 15, 2010. This is also the deadline for those with existing contracts to make changes to those contracts.

It is important to remember that NAP and crop insurance are required in order to be eligible for disaster benefits under the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Program (SURE) and other disaster programs in the 2008 Farm Bill.