No New CRP Signup

In an effort to slightly ease the acreage crunch, USDA will not offer a general signup for the Conservation Reserve Program either this year or in 2008. Agriculture Secretary Johanns says this decision was, “due to the increase in corn needed to meet the demand for ethanol.”

There are currently 36.75 million acres in the CRP. USDA estimates that number will shrink to about 33.6 million by the end of 2008, freeing a little over three million acres for possible crop production.

Editor’s note: Richard Brock, The Corn And Soybean Digest's Marketing Editor, is president of Brock Associates, a farm market advisory firm, and publisher of The Brock Report.

To see more market perspectives, visit Brock's Web site at www.brockreport.com.