Own land? You can earn money

Ever thought you could make money just for owning pastureland?

Well, the National Resource Conservation Service is making that a reality with its Grassland Reserve Program.

All a landowner would have to do is agree to keep their pastureland in its current condition for a set period of time.

The Grassland Reserve Program is a voluntary program designed to help conserve vulnerable grassland from being converted to cropland or urban areas like subdivisions.

Eligible lands include Tribal grasslands, land that contains forbs for which grazing is the predominant use, or land that is located in an area that historically has been dominated by grassland, forbs or shrub land.

The NRCS offers three contracts: 10, 15 or 20 years. The contract holder would earn $12.50 per year per acre owned.

“There’s no guarantee that there will be a program like this 10 years from now, depending on if the funding is available,” said NRCS District Conservationist John Boatman.

That means if someone applies for a 10-year contract today, there’s no guarantee that it could be renewed in 10 years.

Contract holders can use the money however they wish, with no restriction to use it for their land.

According to Boatman, there is great opportunity for people in the Tri-parish area to take advantage of this program.

“Once land is converted from pasture land to urban built up land, they’re never going to go back,” said Boatman. “So there’s a higher incentive in parishes like Lafourche and Terrebonne where in the past there has been a lot of loss in what we would call prime and important farmland, which includes pasture lands also.”

Applications will be accepted throughout the year, but in order to be considered for 2010 funding, applications must be received by March 26.

Those interested can apply by visiting www.la.nrcs.usda.gov.

Expiring acres that were part of the Conservation Reserve Program are also eligible for consideration.

A little upkeep would be involved in order to keep receiving money from the contract, added Boatman

“You would have to agree you would not allow it to grow an evasive species, like Chinese tallow trees,” he said. “So you would have to do some type of management to produce and develop a grazing plan in order to do so.”