Batching Periods
After the forester provides necessary eligibility and other data, FSA will periodically evaluate and offer contracts to top-ranked properties during three batching periods:

• From June 19 through July 28;

• From July 31 through September 1; and

• From September 5 through October 20.

Eligible offers not selected for a particular batch period will be rolled over to the next period.  For the final batch period, FSA will select the most desirable offers, subject to available funding.

Conservation Plans
After offer evaluation and acceptance, a forester will work with the landowner to develop a forestry conservation plan.  The plan will include provisions to:

• Conserve soil;
• Improve water quality;
• Restore wildlife habitat; and
• Restore the land by preparing the site and planting pre-hurricane similar species or other native species.

The plan will also include maintenance requirements such as weed control, tree thinning and prescribed burns, as appropriate.

Contract Approval and Conditions
All EFCRP contracts must have approval by December 31, 2006.

EFCRP participants may not harvest standing timber from enrolled land during the term of the contract period, except as may be permitted by FSA as part of the normal maintenance of forest land.

Contract Duration
Enrolled land will remain under contract for 10 years.  Contracts will become effective the first day of the month following the month of contract approval.  EFCRP contracts will expire 10 years later at the end of each month throughout the year, correlating to the month of the effective date.

Payments
EFCRP participants will receive up to 50 percent cost-share assistance to prepare sites and replant or restore tree stands.  Participants will also receive either 10 years of annual rental payments or a lump sum rental payment.

Annual rental payments are issued one year from the effective date of the contract and then every 12 months thereafter for a total of 10 years.  Amounts are based on:

• The average rental rate for CRP contracts in the county where the land is located; or
• Where a county has no CRP contracts, the CRP rate applicable to a nearby similarly-situated county.

Participants selecting a lump sum will receive the payment within 30 days after the contract becomes effective.  Lump sum payments will equal the present value of 10 years of rental payments minus a five-percent discount.

Payment Example
A producer who enrolls 10 acres in a county with a rental rate of $30 per acre would receive:

• 50 percent cost-share assistance; and
• Lump sum payment of $2,317 within 30 days after the start of the contract; or
• Annual rental payments of $300 per year beginning one year after the start of the contract and continuing for nine consecutive years thereafter.

Funding From Other Programs
Producers cannot receive EFCRP funding for land on which they have or will receive funding from any other Federal program that covers the same expenses.

EFCRP and Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) Acreage
Acreage enrolled in EFCRP does not count toward:

• The per-county number of acres eligible for CRP; or

• CRP’s maximum acreage enrollment authority.

For More Information Contact your local FSA office:
Locate the Service Center closest to you.