Extensions available for CRP contracts

PRESQUE ISLE – The Aroostook County Farm Service Agency has announced that certain Conservation Reserve Program participants whose contracts expire Sept. 30 will have an opportunity to extend their contracts for one year.

The one-year extension option applies to those CRP participants whose contracts expire Sept. 30, but have been active less than 15 years. Under the Food Security Act of 1985, a CRP contract may not exceed 15 years.

The extension will not change participants’ rental rates. All, or a portion, of the acreage under contract may be included in an extension, but no new acreage may be added.

Obligations existing under an original contract will continue to apply to contracts that are modified and extended.

The FSA office is notifying eligible CRP participants of their option to modify and extend their contracts. There is no general sign-up opportunity scheduled for fiscal year 2001. However, producers with relatively small, highly desirable acreage eligible for filter strips and riparian buffers are encouraged to enroll those acres into the Continuous CRP at any time. Those interested may contact Aroostook County FSA offices at Fort Kent, 834-3831; Presque Isle, 764-4151; and Houlton, 532-9407.