January 16, 2008

US farmers convert conservation lands for corn production

A growing number of farmers from Ohio are lured by higher corn prices and are pulling less fertile land out of a conservation programme that pays them not to plant crops.

In South Dakota, officials said 17 percent of the land in the conservation programme, which is around 300,000 acres, might not be renewed this year.

Nebraska farmers also pulled about 6.5 percent of their acres out of the programme between September and November, reducing the acreage from 1.34 million to about 1.25 million.

Jeff Mitchell, Ohio conservation programmes chief at the US Farm Service Agency, said that about 16,000 of the 364,000 acres in the Conservation Reserve Programme could be switched back to corn and soy fields this year.

Farmers previously signed contracts that last 10 or 15 years which require them to plant grasses instead of crops. The goal was to reduce erosion and cut down on the amount of farm fertilizers and pesticides that flow into streams.

In exchange, farmers are paid a set amount. However, some farmers said the government¡¯s annual payment rates have not kept up with cash rents or property tax bills.