Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Millions of acres of native grasses coming out of a federal program that pays property owners not to farm environmentally sensitive land will soon be once again planted to crops.

More than 3.4 million acres nationwide were taken out of the program in September when the owners' contracts expired. Most of them were in Texas, Colorado and Kansas, but hundreds of thousands acres also are coming out in Montana and the Dakotas.

The environmental and economic repercussions could extend beyond the nation's Heartland, with a greater risk of new dust storms, soil erosion and water pollution. Farmers also worry more grain will mean even lower commodity crop prices.

The 2008 Farm Bill capped the program at 32 million acres, with more acreage coming out in subsequent years as contracts expire.