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Grassland Reserve Program

Illinois 2005 Sign-Up and Application Information

Program Information
Enrollment Options
Application/Sign-Up Information
Ranking Information
 Contact

Upland Prairie Cows grazing on farm.

The Grassland Reserve Program (GRP) is a voluntary program offering landowners the opportunity to conserve and protect grassland resources on their property. Emphasis for enrollment into GRP in Illinois is placed on:

  • Preservation and restoration of native and natural grasslands
  • Protection of grasslands from threat of conversion
  • Support of grazing operations
  • Maintenance and improvement of plant and animal diversity

GRP is authorized in the Section 2401 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107-171)  (2002 Farm Bill) and is administered jointly by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the USDA Farm Services Agency (FSA) in cooperation with the Forest Service.

2005 National Conference of the American Forage and Grassland Council

NRCS is a proud co-sponsor of the 2005 national meeting of the American Forage and Grassland Council (AFGC) to be held June 11-15 at the Radisson Hotel in Bloomington, Illinois. The event was held in conjunction with the 2005 Illinois Forage Expo held June 13 at Funk Farms in Shirley, Illinois. NRCS Chief Knight spoke during the luncheon on June 14th and signed a National MOU with AFGC’s President, Ed Twidwell. The American AFGC is eager to formally partner with NRCS and begin identifying new ways to reach livestock producers and develop more sustainable grazing systems that are ideal for animals and the natural resource base. The meeting and expo offered Illinois livestock producers and technical specialists a unique opportunity to hear a broad range of speakers and discussed issues and concerns with others. In addition, information and research on many new technological and research-related advances offers grazing professionals and landowners/operators the opportunity to learn details of successful grazing and forage operations and practices. The event hosts concurrent educational programs, a tour and hay contest, as well as a “grazing school.” For more information on the conference, visit www.afgc.org. The conference was sponsored by the AFGC, IFGC, NRCS, University of Illinois Extension, Illinois SWCDs, and the Grassland Conservation Initiative (GLCI).

Program Information

These following documents require Adobe Acrobat.

Date Format
& Size		 Information
March 6, 2006 Adobe Acrobat Document (102 KB) GRP Final Rule

HTML

 Available
January 2005 Adobe Acrobat Document (103 KB) 2005 Illinois GRP Fact Sheet

HTML

 Available
August 2004 Adobe Acrobat Document (42.3 KB) Questions and Answers

HTML

 Available
September 2004 Adobe Acrobat Document (7.49 KB) Key Points

HTML

 Available
GRP News Releases
Date News Releases
06/14/05 USDA Signs Technical Service Provider Agreement with the American Forage and Grassland Council

This news release is available in Adobe Acrobat format.
Adobe Acrobat Iconnr061405_nhq.pdf (65kb)
02/02/05 NRCS Announces Cutoff Dates for WHIP, GRP
Date Archived News Releases
7/21/04 Interested in Protecting Your Grasslands? Get Your GRP Application In!

 

Enrollment Options

Applicants have the option of choosing either an easement option or a multi-year rental agreement for enrollment into the Grassland Reserve Program.

Easements

Participants may choose either a permanent or a 30-year easement. USDA will provide all administrative costs associated with recording the easement, including appraisal fees, survey costs, title insurance, and recording fees.

  • Permanent easement - a perpetual easement equal to the fair market value, less the grassland value of the land encumbered by the easement (as determined by an appraisal).
  • 30-year easement - USDA will provide an easement payment equal to 30 percent of the fair market value of the land, less the grassland value of the land for the period during which the land is encumbered by the easement.

These documents require Adobe Acrobat.
Adobe Acrobat Document GRP Warranty Easement Deed, CPA-255
Adobe Acrobat Document Form AD-1157, Option Agreement to Purchase
Adobe Acrobat Document Form AD-1157A, Option Agreement to Purchase, Amendment 1
Adobe Acrobat Document Form AD-1158, Subordination Agreement and Limited Lien Waiver
Adobe Acrobat Document Checklist Information Needed to Continue EWP/EWRP/WRP/GRP Programs

Rental Agreements

Participants may choose a 10-, 15-, 20-, or 30-year contract. USDA will provide annual payments in a fixed amount that is not more than 75 percent of the grazing value of the land covered by the agreement for the life of the agreement.

These documents require Adobe Acrobat.
Adobe Acrobat DocumentGRP Rental Agreement Contract, CCC-920
Adobe Acrobat DocumentAppendix to GRP - Rental Agreement Contract, CCC-920

 

Application/Sign-Up

Applications for the Grassland Reserve Program (GRP) are accepted at USDA Service Centers on a continuous basis with one or more ranking and selection periods per fiscal year. The cut-off date for fiscal year 2005 funding consideration in Illinois is June 3, 2005. Applications that were not selected for funding in fiscal year 2004 have been deferred and will be considered for funding during the 2005 ranking period.

These documents require Adobe Acrobat.
Adobe Acrobat Document Application for Long-term Contracted Assistance, AD-1153

 

Ranking

Applications will be evaluated and selected based on a ranking score determined from the state ranking criteria. Priority will be given to applications under threat of conversion and that do not require restoration efforts.

Ranking tools and resources are available on the NRCS eFOTG (Electronic Field Office Technical Guide) Web site.

These documents require Adobe Acrobat.
Adobe Acrobat Document Practice Standard 528A: Prescribed Grazing
 Adobe Acrobat Document Practice Standard 643: Restoration and Management of Declining Habitats
 Adobe Acrobat Document Agronomy Technical Note IL-2: Guidelines for Herbaceous Stand Evaluation
 Adobe Acrobat Document Biology Technical Note IL-18: Habitat Evaluation

These documents require Microsoft Word.
Microsoft Word Document 2005 GRP Ranking Criteria
Microsoft Word Document Ranking Criteria Attachment
Microsoft Word Document Pasture/Hayland/Livestock Inventory Worksheet

These documents require Microsoft Excel software.
Microsoft Excel Icon Soils Grazing Worksheet (March 2005; 294 KB)
Microsoft Excel Icon Seeding Calculator

 

For More Information

 

Illinois NRCS Program Contact

Ruth Book
Resource Conservationist
Phone: 217.353.6630
Email: ruth.book@il.usda.gov

Updated 3/7/2006