CP-42 Pollinator
Whitetail Deer
Does anyone have much experience with the CP-42 crp program on their own land or land they hunt? How have the deer taken to it? I know it will be good for pheasants. I am trying to get a few acres enrolled on my dad's land and wanted to see what others' experiences were.
I planted about 1 ac in a pollinator mix that I concocted with some wildflower mix and added grasses, forbs, etc that were recommended by the state DNR. I did look hard at that mix but I believe it was more geared for non-clay soils and less moisture.....items we don't have in Ohio.
I have seen some pictures of it and I wouldn't hesitate plating it though.....great looking mix that puts on some height.
You could always add some other seed if you are wanting a little more height....some indian grass, big blue, and switch would help......they may eventually take over though.
I just put some cp-42 in this year, but we haven't had much rain to really get it up and going good this year. We also have some existing cp-42 (60-80 acres worth) on my as well as my Dad's farm. The farms are mostly surrounded by timber. The deer utilize it quite a bit for bedding and readily travel through it. I'm sure they also browse in it somewhat, but I don't think there's tons of food source in it for them, but I could be wrong. I wish that it had more tall grasses in the mix for better cover. CP-42 doesn't get overly tall compared to some of the other CRP options that are offered, but sometimes it is the only option available.
CAS.... If you enroll in the program, the NRCS won't allow you to add any other seed to the mix. (I checked!)
Great point Troy.
I didn't enroll.....I just did it on my own $.
Yeah, I don't think you can do that, unless you do it on the dl. Might be a good way to get them to refuse input reimbursement or contract payments. I think I will double check with our local office to see if they would allow it though... maybe see if there is anything that would obtain more height but not take over the pollinators?
Glad to hear the deer use it a fair amount for bedding t-roy. I figured they would, but didn't know how prolific. There's plenty of surrounding acreage in crops for food, as well as some timbered areas for browse, so that is not a concern. Man, you have a heck of a patch with 60-80 acres. I'm looking at putting in an 8 acre patch. You are right on the options available. Program acreage might end up declining, thus if one wants to get some land in program, waiting for the exact option you want might not be in your best interest.
Any other thoughts?
I work for NRCS in Kansas and I think the FSA manual states that the mix can contain no more than 25% native grasses. It may be different for various states, but it would be worth asking your local FSA/NRCS office about tweaking the mix. Many offices, myself included, have mixes already developed and most people don't care what gets planted, but if a producer has an interest in wildlife and wants to change the mix it can usually be done as long as the minimum program requirements are met. For example you have to have a minimum number of forbs/wildflowers, 9 I think, with a minimum of 3 blooming in different stages throughout the summer (early, mid, late), but if you wanted to plant 20 different species and they were approved you could do that as long as you met the requirement listed above. On the contrary if you went in and only wanted to seed 100% brome grass that wouldn't fly;)
With all that said, I will say it again, your local office is the place to start. I can't guarantee every state is the same. And to answer your question, more habitat is always good imo!! Good luck
Matt
Thanks for the imput Matt!
I have about 18 acres and the rest is Dad's. They actually had a different program available for about the same $ per acre as the cp42 program, where they would actually let you put up to 10% of it in food plots and still paid you the same for those acres! My Dad had his signed up for that particular program, but somebody dropped the ball on it, and they ran out of acres available before his got enrolled:-( I had 3 killer spots all picked out for plots but things fell through.
Timing can be key for getting things enrolled and they've eliminated or don't offer certain programs. I actually re-enrolled 5 of 7 of my established acres this year along with enrolling 13 acres in the same field at the same time. I took the other 2 acres of the 7 established acres out in order to put a food plot in a strategic location.
My share of the "guvmint cheese" ;-)
Listen to Matt! Just to reiterate lean on the NRCS conservationist locally and tell them your objectives also ask if they partner with pheasants forever biologists who can help you tailor a mix. One more thing to keep in mind shrubs are a piece of the puzzle and you can establish shrub thickets within your CP42 that might fit your objective to deer-attractive habitat. Most forb species on our pollinator list in Nebraska are shorter. Only the sunflowers and maybe milkweed have any height Good luck to you!
Thanks for the input gentlemen. Shrub thickets sound enticing. Any thoughts on what plant I could propose to the NRCS guys for those? I was strongly considering the basic or plus pollinator seed mix from Pheasants Forever if it is available.
Good point on the PF biologists Andy. I thought of that and failed to mention it. They will definitely be more geared towards wildlife and will work with the producer to accomplish their goals moreso than some NRCS employees for the simple fact that a lot of NRCS employees don't have a biology background.
Bottom line is we are nearing the national cap of 24 million acres in CRP. If that isn't increased all of this will likely be a moot point.
Checking with conservation districts and PF/QU etc chapters may be a good alternative. However, you won't get the annual rental payment if that is a factor in your decision.
Matt
Be sure and check with your NRCS guy about the shrub thing. In alot of our CRP acres programs, they require you to keep brush and trees from getting established in the seeding (go figure!)
Pollinator pays good. Deer love it. I just put in 40 acres
You are right T-Roy but when it's a suitable species and it's part of the CRP practice it's ok. It's when you get volunteer undesirable species over 5% of your contract acreage that it becomes an issue. I'm an NRCS guy in Nebraska and we are basically capped on acres. Very few are getting in. Very high rental rates and very low commodity prices have helped turn back a lot of marginal land here.
Franzen not sure about shrub species for Illinois and what soil type you are talking but it's probably not much different. We do plums, elderberry, hazelnut, chokecherry, red ozier dogwoods.
Under fedetal pollinator u r required to plant specific plants amd burn it off periodically. Seed for 40 acres was well over $10000 but there is a subsidy
I wasn't aware of the allowable shrubs. Yep. There's a cost share on the seed, seeding, some ground prep, and mid-contract maintenance (burning, disking) and possibly some other things.
I'm seeing PF mixes for $200/ac., but I haven't checked with any of the local salesmen. We have a contract ready to sign, so the cap shouldn't be an issue with what we want to do right now. Putting in a tiny amount of Riparian border as well, but I need to have the area forester re-structure the plan for RPM instead of traditional saplings.
Cory, I'm curious what your per acre payment rate is? (If you prefer not to say, no problem). In one field I re-enrolled 5 of the 7 existing acres already in the program, plus, put the other 12 acres in. I got $313/acre for it. I was cash renting it to a guy for $250/acre. It isn't that great of soil either (light oak timber ground)
There are some guys around here that really know how to work the system and get the max payments on different types of ground. Buffer strips, riparian wetlands, etc. kinda like some people on food stamps! :-)
I don't have any paperwork in front of me, and I have actually not seen the final number yet, but I seem to recall being quoted somewhere in the neighborhood of $250 or a little less. The price was about what my dad was getting in cash rent, and I think maybe just a tick higher (that was about the only way I was convincing him to take out a production field). Bear in mind that he could likely get a bit more in cash rent, but he prefers to let a local guy that he knows farm it, which I like too. $300 + is good money.
Having the PF biologist come out next week. If I get any useful tidbits, I'll post them here. I'm not sure any of the shrubs Andy listed will fly because from what I could gather none were native to my area. I appreciate the input and will see if there are other options that I could spot in.
