03/21/05 CSP sign up; pulse loan rates

Farm and Ranch March 21, 2005 Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns has announced the sign up period for the Conservation Security Program or CSP. Johanns: "I am very proud to announce that farmers and ranchers on those watersheds will be able to sign up for CSP beginning on March 28th. The sign up period will last until May 27th." The CSP is a voluntary conservation program that supports ongoing stewardship of private agricultural working lands and rewards those producers who are meeting the highest standard of conservation and environmental management on their operations. The nationwide sign up will be available to about 235-thousand farmers and ranchers in 220 watersheds. Eligible watersheds in Washington, Oregon and Idaho include the 36 announced in November of last year as well as the three initial watersheds from the first CSP signup in 2004. To apply for CSP, the Natural Resources Conservation Service asks potential participants to complete a self assessment workbook that is available on the Web or from local NRCS offices. That self-assessment will determine if an operation meets the requirements to qualify for program participation. The USDA has announced 2005 crop loan rates for pulses. There continues to be just one national rate for lentils and that's $11.22 a hundredweight. The national rate for small chickpeas is $7.43 a hundredweight. There are regional rates for dry peas and the 2005 dry pea West region loan rate is $6.61 per hundredweight. I'm Bob Hoff and that's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.