The Harlem News

Soil Bank Conservation Reserve Signup to Start

Farmers who wish to put cropland in the Soil Bank's 1960 Conservation Reserve must ask the county ASC committee to set a basic annual rate per acre for the offered land. P. O. Butler, manager of the Blaine County Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation committee, said this week.

The period for filing such request is from August 24 through Sept. 10, and no requests will be accepted after Sept. 10.

In setting the basic annual per-acre rate for land offered, the county committee will take into consideration the productivity of the land. The rate will be limited to the local fair rental value of the land based on the crops harvested from it during the past 5 years. When all the eligible cropland on the farm is offered for the Conservation Reserve, the rate will generally be set 10 percent higher than the rate for only part of the eligible land.

After the basic rate has been determined, the farmer may apply for a contract at any figure below the basic rate established for the land offered in the request for rates. If necessary a priority system will be used to determine which offers are accepted.

Contracts under the Conservation Reserve may run for as long as 10 years. During the life of the contract the farmer will receive an annual rental payment on the reserved land. He also will receive cost-sharing help in establishing an approved conservation practice.

For Montana, the basic per-acre rate of payment under the 1960 Conservation Reserve is $10, the same as under the 1959 program. The Blaine county rate is $10 per acre, also the same as for the 1959 program.