Enrolling in the Conservation Reserve Program is a great way to restore health to marginal land while protecting local wildlife and water supply. However, it comes with a fair amount of upfront work. Establishing CRP is a multistep process that includes land prep, herbicide application, mowing, mid-contract management, and more.
But it starts with buying quality CRP seed.
Though it sounds simple, seed quality can make or break your CRP establishment. If you’re new to the program, you may not even be sure where to buy CRP seed. It might be tempting to default to a brand name you’ve heard of like Pheasants Forever’s CRP seed or another seed company you’ve purchased crop seed.
Before you make any purchases, however, it’s important to understand what to look for in CRP seed.
Not All CRP Seed is Created Equal
The Conservation Reserve Program has specific requirements for what can and cannot be planted in your enrolled land. Failure to abide by this can result in non-compliance of your contract. The exact seed varies depending on the Conservation Practice you’re enrolled in, as well as the state where you live. In some cases, seeds planted must be native to your region and have a local ecotype.
Still, it isn’t just about the right type of seed. It’s also about the quality. Purchasing low quality seed is a common mistake people make when first enrolling in CRP. This will make CRP establishment much more difficult, and it may result in total failure.
To know the quality of the seed mix you’re purchasing, you’ll want to look at the seed tags. The seed tags provide a variety of information including origin, purity, percentage of weeds, percentage of dormant seeds, and more.
When it comes to determining overall quality, the most important information is purity and germination, to determine PLS (pure live seed) versus bulk seed amount. This lets you know how much of the intended seed you’re actually getting. For more on how PLS is determined, make sure to check out this post here.
Seed tags are also important for documentation and reporting. In order to receive your cost share reimbursement for CRP establishment, you’ll need legible copies of all of your seed tags.
Buying CRP Seed from All Native Seed
At All Native Seed, we pride ourselves on offering high-quality CRP seed. We aren’t simply a seed company that happens to sell CRP seed. We are a seed company that only sells CRP seed. With 17 years of CRP experience, you can trust that we know what it takes to successfully establish native vegetation.
All of our seed mixes come with easy-to-read seed tags. Additionally, we keep digital copies of all seed purchases. That means if you lose or damage your seed tags, we can easily get you a new copy. Whether you’d like to purchase one of our custom CRP seed mixes, or you have an NRCS seed plan that you need a quote on, you can expect a better product and a straightforward sales process.
Of course, even with quality seed, you’ll need to plant it, create an herbicide plan, document everything, and more. This can be a lot of work, especially for those unfamiliar with the process. That’s why our parent company offers full-service CRP solutions. To learn more about that, make sure to visit the FDCE website here.