PLAINVIEW – The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) is conducting signup for the Conservation Reserve Program’s (CRP) State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement (SAFE) Initiatives. Farmers and landowners in the Prairie SAFE Project area may be eligible to participate. The SAFE projects are available through CRP’s Continuous Signup. 

“This SAFE project provides a unique opportunity for farmers and landowners to be actively engaged with protecting rare, threatened, and endangered species for future generations through implementing conservation practices” said Shelly Fuston, County Executive Director. 

Prairie SAFE Project 

The goal of the Prairie SAFE Project is to reconnect geographically and reproductively isolated populations of Lesser Prairie Chickens, Northern Bobwhite and other grassland species by creating, restoring, and maintain 250,000 acres of native prairie habitat patches and corridors. 

Potential benefits of Prairie SAFE include habitat restoration for grassland wildlife, improving water and air quality, improving plant health, erosion and runoff prevention, and water quality and aquifer recharge improvement. 

Farmers and landowners in these 71 counties may offer eligible land for enrollment: 

• Andrews 
• Archer 
• Armstrong 
• Bailey 

• Baylor 
• Borden 
• Briscoe 
• Carson 
• Castro 

• Childress 
• Clay 
• Cochran 
• Collingsworth 
• Concho 

• Cottle 
• Crosby 
• Dallam 
• Dawson 
• Deaf smith 

• Dickens 
• Donley 
• Fisher 
• Floyd 
• Foard 

• Gains 
• Garza 
• Glasscock 
• Gray 
• Hale 

• Hall 
• Hansford 
• Hardeman 
• Hartley 
• Haskell 

• Hemphill 
• Hockley 
• Howard 
• Hutchinson 
• Jones 

• Kent 
• King knox 
• Lamb 
• Lipscomb 
• Lubbock 

• Lynn 
• Martin 
• Mitchell 
• Moore 
• Motley 

• Nolan 
• Ochiltree 
• Oldham 
• Parmer 
• Potter 

• Randall 
• Roberts 
• Runnels 
• Scurry 
• Sherman 

• Stonewall 
• Swisher 
• Taylor 
• Terry 
• Throckmorton 

• Tom Green 
• Wheeler 
• Wichita 
• Wilbarger 
• Yoakum 

• Young 

For accepted offers, a wildlife conservation plan must be developed. 

Eligibility 

CRP enrolls existing cropland into conservation cover. Land offered for enrollment must satisfy basic CRP eligibility and cropping history requirements. Farmers and landowners should check with their local FSA office to determine individual eligibility. 

Financial Assistance 

The CRP program pays a yearly rental payment in exchange for farmers and landowners removing environmentally sensitive land from agricultural production and planting species that will improve environmental quality. 

Financial assistance through the SAFE projects may include: 

• 10-15 years of annual rental payments 
• Payments of up to 50% cost-share for practice establishment 
• Practices enrolled through CRP Continuous Sign-up will also receive: 

• A 50% Practice Incentive Payment 
• Sign-up Incentive Payment equal to 32.5% of first full year’s annual rental payment 

• A Climate Smart Annual Practice Incentive of 3, 5, or 10 based on the practice cover 

• Payments up to 90% of established Soil Rental Rate may be possible for: 

• Habitat Buffers for Upland Birds 
• Permanent Wildlife Habitat 

More Information 

Farmers and landowners interested in learning more about the Prairie SAFE Project can contact the Hale County FSA office at 806-296-6315. 

USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. Under the Biden-Harris administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit usda.gov.