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Statewide Arkansas Land Listings
Conservation Programs for Landowners
LITTLE ROCK - The recent rains across Arkansas have many of the state's rivers, streams, creeks and drainage ditches out of their banks. The high water mark left when the water recedes can prove to be financially beneficial to row-crop farmers and ranchers.
Landowners looking for an alternative income for these marginal lands adjacent to riparian areas may qualify for a government conservation program, according to Arkansas Game and Fish Commission agricultural liaison David Long. "With the recent flooding across the state, now is a very good opportunity for farmers and ranchers to consider placing qualifying cropland and certain pasturelands adjacent to riparian areas in the Continuous Conservation Reserve Program administered by the County Farm Service Agency, Long said.
"Once it is determined the land meets the basic cropland or pastureland eligibility criteria, by flagging the high water mark, agricultural producers can apply to the FSA to enroll into the CCRP practice called CP22 Riparian Forest Buffers," Long explained. "Normally, the maximum width for enrolling these areas is 180 feet, but by marking the high water line where sediment deposits are found, the enrollment can be increased out beyond the traditional 180 feet maximum."
"Many farmers and ranchers have enrolled upwards of 800 to 900 foot widths and more into CP22 using this criteria and plant trees in these riparian buffers," Long stated. "It is critical to flag these high water marks after flood water recedes to establish the eligibility past 180 feet. Many farmers and ranchers prefer to retire greater widths on such riparian borders but are restricted to the maximum 180 feet unless they capture evidence of the high water levels. This can be done by flagging the high water line, and it could also be helpful to take pictures of the flagged high water mark left by receding waters to provide to the Farm Service Agency. Additionally, if the line can be documented with a GPS unit, that would be even better," he advised.
Many farmers have marginally productive cropland or pasturelands along riparian areas (streams, rivers, creeks, certain drainage ditches) that are subject to flooding during many times of the year, Long says. "Row crop farmers lose crops every year either in the spring after planting or just prior to the late summer to fall harvest period. Many ranchers lose fences to high waters and have even been known to lose livestock to flood waters. CP22 is a great financial solution to these problem croplands or pasturelands adjacent to riparian edges," Long explained.
The CP22 practice offers farm producers the opportunity to improve profitability of these hard to farm croplands or pasturelands. CP22 offers soil rental or pastureland payments for up to 15 years, along with an additional 20 percent rental incentive added to the soil or pastureland rental payment and a $100 per acre up-front one-time Signing Incentive Payment for enrolling.
For this tree planting buffer practice, FSA offers a 50 percent cost-share along with a Practice Incentive Payment equal to 40 percent of the cost of the practice installation. When these two incentives are combined, it results in FSA paying approximately 90 percent of the practice cost and the farmer or rancher paying only 10 percent. This reduces the landowner's out of pocket cost to an average of only $15 per acre.
For qualifying pastureland, the rancher may receive the cost-sharing and the PIP payment to fence livestock out and if an alternative watering source is needed, a stock pond constructed above the fence, Long notes. "These are awesome incentives leaving the rancher paying only 10% of not only the trees and planting cost, but 10 percent of the cost of the fence and stock pond. It is critical to protect the trees planted in the riparian buffer by fencing out livestock," he said.
Farmers and ranchers are seeking every possible outlet to improve farm or ranch profitability, especially in light of high fuel prices and production input costs, Long explained. "For those producers also dealing with crop loses or pastureland damage from flooding, CP22 is the perfect financial alternative to farming these flood prone lands when you figure in the higher operation cost on today's farm and ranchland," he explained. "CP22, riparian forest buffers have proven to be the perfect solution to receiving stable farm income on those croplands or pastureland subject to flood waters," Long added.
"Plus, the water quality improvement benefiting fish and other aquatic species can be exceptional. The habitat establishment resulting from tree buffers to wildlife can be tremendously beneficial to such species as deer, turkey, wood ducks, rabbits, bear, songbirds, bats, and many other water associated terrestrial wildlife that utilize these new tree covered buffers next to the water," Long concluded.
For more information on land eligibility, rental payments, and other program criteria, contact your county Farm Service Agency office. Long may be contacted by calling toll-free (877) 972-5438 to receive more information.
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