By Sandhills POST
KEITH COUNTY, Neb. — The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced the start of a new sign-up period for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), and Nebraska Game and Parks is jumping in with a suite of incentives aimed at encouraging landowners to enroll.
The general and continuous CRP sign-up began Monday and will run through June 6. Biologist Addie Piernicky with Nebraska Game and Parks says this year’s sign-up is especially important for boosting habitat in key areas across the state.
“We’ve been waiting for this year,” Piernicky said in an interview. “We have a bunch of incentives through the Nebraska Game and Park Commission, especially in areas we’ve identified as critical pheasant habitat.”
CRP is a voluntary program that compensates agricultural producers for removing environmentally sensitive land from production and planting species that improve environmental health. Nebraska Game and Parks is working to sweeten the deal for landowners, offering targeted incentive payments in counties like Keith, Perkins, and across Southwest Nebraska.
“If you enroll in CRP and agree to five years of public access through the Open Fields and Waters program, you could qualify for a $75 per-acre signing incentive payment through our pheasant plan,” Piernicky said.
The incentives aren’t limited to public access participants. Game and Parks offers additional support for seeding and land preparation, even for those not participating in access programs.
“We have incentives just to say thank you for enrolling in CRP,” Piernicky added.
The state’s conservation push also includes the Nebraska Community Access Partnership program, which provides a one-time bonus for landowners opening their CRP or rangeland to walk-in public access. Eligible landowners in Keith, Garden, Deuel, and Arthur counties can receive up to $100 per acre in total bonuses, depending on land type and location.
“We tell people, ‘farm the best and conserve the rest,’” Piernicky said. “We know where those acres are that just aren’t producing for you. With CRP, you can make them work for wildlife and for your bottom line.”
Game and Parks also offers technical assistance. A team of biologists, including Madison Fell and new farm bill biologist Hayley in Sidney, are available to help landowners navigate the programs.
A notable new CRP practice gaining traction is the “prairie strips” initiative, which allows producers to convert marginal areas like pivot corners into diverse plantings of grasses and wildflowers. These strips are not only habitat-friendly but also producer-friendly: they’re driveable during harvest and can qualify for up to a 20% increase in annual CRP payments.
With high sand content in many soils across Nebraska, Piernicky said the prairie strips program has resulted in a significant boost in payments for participants.
“People are really seeing a bump in what they’re earning annually,” she said.
Landowners interested in enrolling or learning more about incentives can contact Nebraska Game and Parks biologists in their area.
“Give us a shout,” Piernicky said. “We’re here to help.”