Options for landowners
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AMARILLO, TEXAS -- The US Agricultural Commissioner is cutting some three million acres from the Conservation and Reserve Program.
And many of them are here in the Panhandle.
Very few of the landowners in the Panhandle who have contracts with the CRP will be given the opportunity to renew those contracts, which means much less money for already struggling ranchers
"It'll be economic," landowner Ann Wells said, "plus, I think the quality of our air and water is going to be affected. Also I think if we have to dig into our water tables, that will hurt the economy, too."
Officials for the United States Department of Agriculture say -- it's just the reality of our day and age
Agricultural Program Manager for the USDA said, "The reality of today is that the we have around 78,000 acres that are expiring this year in September, and we're only able to enroll about 200 of those 1,000 acres for an extension of three to five years.
Garcia also explained another reason for the change; some of the land in the Panhandle does not meet new criteria.
According to the Texas AgriLife Extension, landowners presently have three options for their land: wildlife, farming and grazing.
Ranchers who chose wildlife would basically allow wildlife to continue to live on the land, without interruption.
Ranchers who wish to farm on the land, would need to meet certain ecological requirements.
The third option, grazing, would allow animals to graze freely on the land. .
