Brownsburg — Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman recently visited Starkey Farms here to announce that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has granted an expansion of Indiana’s Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program , a partnership between the USDA and the State of Indiana to address agriculture-related environmental concerns.
The expansion nearly quadruples the number of acres eligible for conservation.
“There is certainly nowhere that I would rather be than on a farm with so many partners as we celebrate progress in our state,” Skillman said. “Agriculture and our soil and water conservation get a tremendous boost from this announcement.”
The announcement will include 65 counties including Hendricks, Marion, Boone and Morgan. The previous version of CREP only covered 29 counties.
CREP will also cover 11 watersheds and more than 26,250 acres. The program addresses water quality and wildlife concerns by giving incentives to reduce sediment and nutrient runoff and enhance wildlife habitat. Program participants will receive financial incentives for agreeing to sign 14- or 15-year contracts.
The estimated $85 million cost includes $67.5 million from the USDA. Indiana will provide the remaining $17.5 million through the Clean Water Indiana Fund and in-kind services.
“I think back to 2005, when I signed the state’s first ever CREP program,” Skillman said. “Our original goal for this program was to address the water quality and wildlife issues on about 7,000 acres. We are very proud to announce that today we will be able to include four times that amount with this expansion.”
The USDA also contributed heavily to the program’s expansion.
See Tuesday's Lebanon Reporter for more on this story.
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