LEASING CONCERNS FOR CRP LAND COMING BACK INTO PRODUCTION

"The effects of CRP on a given piece of ground with regards to lease concerns are both positive and negative," says Tim Eggers, Iowa State University Extension farm management specialist.

The major positive impacts of the CRP program are that the land has had very minimal erosion for up to 11 years, and soil organic matter has increased significantly over that time. Increased organic matter can further contribute to future decreased erosion if maintained.

"Taking established grass land and putting it back into production while keeping the positive attributes gained from being in the CRP program is the primary challenge facing landowners and tenants," according to Eggers.

Row crops or not

"It is quite possible, and highly probable, that some of the land in expiring CRP contracts should not be put into row crops for economic reasons," says Eggers. Alternatives for CRP land not suitable for row crop production include forage production, conversion to pasture land, continuous CRP sign-up opportunities and the next general CRP sign-up scheduled for this fall.

Converting CRP to crop land

"The landowner and tenants need to set some goals so they can share in the economic and agronomic profits that come with converting suitable CRP land to crop production," says Eggers. Setting these goals helps to determine what cultural practices are to be followed and how the additional costs are to be shared.

Eggers offers the following practice options and concerns to consider during goal identification.

• No till is the conversion practice that best maintains the organic matter and erosion characteristics of the CRP acres. It calls for mowing the acres that are to be brought into production sometime early to late August. After sufficient vegetative regrowth, (approximately 6 inches) a burndown herbicide is applied. Standard no-till practices are followed in the spring with another application of burndown herbicide made around planting time. This will allow for regular no-till practices. This could result in crop ground not significantly different from regular no-till crop ground, if the weather cooperates in the fall and the mowing and spraying are timely, he said.

• Tillage assumes that the land will go into a conventional tillage system. Conservation compliance measures should be taken if participation in the government farm program is desired. Conventional tillage could follow the no-till practices, minus the spring burndown, to achieve near normal field conditions. The sod may require additional spring tillage if the mowing and the fall burndown aren't followed. Possible planting delays must be considered when comparing fall burndown and additional spring tillage plans.

• Seed to soil contact is a major concern with converted CRP acres, and absolutely critical concern with corn. According to Eggers, it can be difficult to attain sufficient seed to soil contact with corn in first year CRP no-till.

• Nutrient availability should be determined with soil tests. Soil tests, to ensure appropriate fertilization for the coming crop, should include the basic series of P, K and pH along with organic matter and Zinc. Additional nutrient information is available in numerous Extension publications available at county Extension offices.

• Soil insects are another concern, Eggers said. "Tillage will not kill these insects, and insecticides are highly recommended when following CRP with corn," he said.

The landowner and prospective tenant can both benefit from CRP acres once decisions are made in regards to the crop to be grown, the method for bringing the land into production, the type of lease to use ,and how the costs of bringing the land back into production are to be allocated.

A written lease agreement should be the final planning step. Landowners and farm operators have options for leasing their CRP land. Those include crop share lease, livestock share lease, cash lease or a flexible lease. With a crop share lease, the owner receives a share of the crop for contributing use of the land. The owner furnishes the buildings and facilities and the farm operator furnishes the labor in a livestock share lease. The tenant pays a specific amount of money each year for the use of the farm with a cash lease in force. Flexible leases have become popular with landowners wishing to share price and yield variability with tenants while maintaining some of the simplicity of the cash lease. Lease forms are available at county ISU Extension Offices.

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Contacts:
Tim Eggers, Page County Extension, (712) 542-5171
Elaine Edwards, ISU Extension Communications, (515) 294-5168

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