Farmers' assessment of the soil conservation attributes of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and implications for returning CRP lands to crop productio

Several studies have reported the countless benefits to soil quality from the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), but few studies have attempted to determine farmers' knowledge of the benefits to soil quality accrued by the CRP. Additionally, few studies have reported farmers' knowledge of, and willingness to use, the conservation practices that will sustain the benefits obtained from the CRP.;A survey was randomly distributed to 100 CRP participants in St. Clair County, IL. The response rate was 46 percent and represents 25 percent of all participants in the county. The major findings of this study were: (1) most farmers in St. Clair County felt that the CRP was successful in achieving its soil conservation goals; (2) approximately half of the farmers in the county were incognizant of the benefits that CRP has on soil quality attributes; (3) most farmers in the county were unfamiliar with technical soil science terms; (4) approximately half of the farmers in the county had difficulty identifying sustainable conservation practices; (5) in the absence of federal funds, most farmers in St. Clair County (60.4 percent) will return their CRP acres to crop production; and, (6) a large majority of the farmers in the county will not employ some form of soil conservation practice when returning their CRP acres to production.;The present CRP is unlikely to exist in the future due to federal budget constraints. Thus, policymakers must include provisions in the new Farm Bill that will provide valuable education for farmers in terms of soil conservation, as well as some form of efficient economic incentive to employ those techniques. This study also provides valuable empirical data that soil conservation professionals (ASCS, SCS) can use as an effective management tool when working with farmers.