USDA and Indiana Expand Their Successful Conservation Partnership

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., Sept. 18, 2024 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the state of Indiana announced today the expansion of the Indiana Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) – broadening the program from 65 counties to the state’s entire 92 counties and increasing the acreage goal to 100,000 acres.  The expansion will include 27 additional watersheds in the state.

The Administrator for the USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), Zach Ducheneaux, and the Director of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, Don Lamb, met today to formally sign the program’s expansion into action in Pierceton, Ind.

“This expansion of the CREP program in Indiana is a direct reflection of its success and the conservation priorities that we and the state of Indiana hold so high,” said Ducheneaux. “This program is an incredibly important resource, benefiting both agriculture and the environment throughout this state.”

The purpose of the Indiana CREP is to improve water quality by reducing sediment and nutrient runoff and enhance wildlife habitats. Currently, it has more than 22,000 acres of agricultural land enrolled in 11 designated watersheds in the Wabash and White River systems, including the Tippecanoe, Upper White River, Highland/Pigeon, Upper Wabash, Middle Wabash-Deer, Middle Wabash-Little Vermillion, Middle Wabash-Busseron, Lower Wabash, Lower White, Lower East Fork White and the Upper East Fork White watersheds.

“We are thrilled that Indiana’s CREP program will be expanded statewide,” said Lamb.  “This program is proven to enhance our watersheds and improve habitats.  This funding will go a long way to economically support landowners while enhancing our watersheds.  We are grateful that USDA has made expanding this program a priority.”

Hosted by longtime supporters of the Indiana CREP, Don and Darci Zolman - row crop farmers in  Pierceton, Ind., today’s signing ceremony not only formalized the expansion of the program to all counties in the state, but also added a conservation practice, “Shallow Water Areas for Wildlife” (Conservation Practice CP9), to the already robust list of practices currently part of the CREP:

• CP2, Establishment of Permanent Native Grasses
• CP3A, Harwood Tree Planting
• CP4D, Permanent Wildlife Habitat
• CP21, Filter Strips
• CP22, Riparian Buffer
• CP23, Wetland Restoration
• CP23A, Wetland Restoration, Non-Floodplain
• CP31, Bottomland Timber Establishment on Wetlands

 The expansion of the Indiana CREP is set to take effect Oct. 1, 2024.

“An expanded opportunity like CREP for Indiana Hoosiers is simply not possible without a solid partnership,” said Julia A. Wickard, State Executive Director for FSA in Indiana .  “In Indiana, partnerships work, and I am beyond proud of the work we are collectively doing as an Indiana conservation partnership to provide sustainable and economic resources to all Hoosier producers and landowners.”[WD1] 

Currently, CREP has 40 projects in 26 states. In total, more than 678,000 acres are enrolled in CREP. The Indiana CREP is part of USDA’s broader effort to leverage CREP as an important tool to address climate change and other natural resources challenges while expanding opportunities for producers and communities, especially those historically underserved by USDA.

 

More Information

To learn more about FSA programs, producers can contact their local USDA Service Center. Producers can also prepare maps for acreage reporting as well as manage farm loans and view other farm records data and customer information by logging into their farmers.gov account. If you don’t have an account, sign up today.

FSA helps America’s farmers, ranchers and forest landowners invest in, improve, protect and expand their agricultural operations through the delivery of agricultural programs for all Americans. FSA implements agricultural policy, administers credit and loan programs, and manages conservation, commodity, disaster recovery and marketing programs through a national network of state and county offices and locally elected county committees. For more information, visit fsa.usda.gov.

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