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2008 REAP windbreak funds now available
For the Daily Gate City
DONNELLSON - Landowners who plan to install farmstead or field windbreaks on rural land next spring may apply for REAP funds by visiting the Lee Soil and Water Conservation District office in Donnellson.
REAP funds in the amount of $12,000 are currently available for Lee County projects. Lee Soil and Water Conservation District commissioners review REAP applications monthly and grant approvals to feasible projects on a first-come first-served basis until funds are exhausted.
The State of Iowa's Resource Enhancement and Protection program, initiated in 1990, provides 75 percent cost-share for installing windbreaks.
Reimbursable costs for windbreak practices are limited to 75 percent of the actual cost but payments, made on a per-tree basis, cannot exceed $15 per tree, $2.25 per shrub, or $1,200 per windbreak. Small acreage owners are eligible for the program provided the site is feasible for an effective planting.
Participants approved for REAP funding must install their trees according to a windbreak plan developed for their land by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Windbreak plans are prepared free of charge by NRCS personnel who work with individual landowners on site to measure and determine tree quantity, spacing, and recommended species. Farmstead windbreaks must protect homes, farmsteads, feed lots, or other farm building sites while field windbreaks typically protect cropland from prevailing winds. Windbreak designs require a minimum of three rows of multiple species conifer trees. Additional rows may be installed using conifer and hardwood trees, or shrubs.
Landowners are responsible for purchasing and planting their own windbreak trees, or they may contract with a nurseryman or forester to install the windbreak for them. Trees and shrubs may be purchased from any source determined by the landowner.
The REAP planting deadline is May 15th, 2008. Completed windbreak projects are inspected prior to payment and are bound by the terms of a 20 year maintenance agreement that prohibits grazing and requires replacement of failed trees. Unlike the CRP program, no annual rental payments are awarded to REAP windbreak acres.
A properly designed windbreak can add value to any property, reduce heating demands by as much as 25 percent, and attract game and songbirds and other wildlife throughout the year.
Landowners interested in the REAP windbreak program should visit the Lee Soil and Water Conservation District office at the USDA Service Center in Donnellson weekdays between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. to receive program details and to apply.
All programs and services of the Lee SWCD are offered on a nondiscriminatory basis, without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, marital status, or handicap.
DONNELLSON - Landowners who plan to install farmstead or field windbreaks on rural land next spring may apply for REAP funds by visiting the Lee Soil and Water Conservation District office in Donnellson.
REAP funds in the amount of $12,000 are currently available for Lee County projects. Lee Soil and Water Conservation District commissioners review REAP applications monthly and grant approvals to feasible projects on a first-come first-served basis until funds are exhausted.
The State of Iowa's Resource Enhancement and Protection program, initiated in 1990, provides 75 percent cost-share for installing windbreaks.
Reimbursable costs for windbreak practices are limited to 75 percent of the actual cost but payments, made on a per-tree basis, cannot exceed $15 per tree, $2.25 per shrub, or $1,200 per windbreak. Small acreage owners are eligible for the program provided the site is feasible for an effective planting.
Participants approved for REAP funding must install their trees according to a windbreak plan developed for their land by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.
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Landowners are responsible for purchasing and planting their own windbreak trees, or they may contract with a nurseryman or forester to install the windbreak for them. Trees and shrubs may be purchased from any source determined by the landowner.
The REAP planting deadline is May 15th, 2008. Completed windbreak projects are inspected prior to payment and are bound by the terms of a 20 year maintenance agreement that prohibits grazing and requires replacement of failed trees. Unlike the CRP program, no annual rental payments are awarded to REAP windbreak acres.
A properly designed windbreak can add value to any property, reduce heating demands by as much as 25 percent, and attract game and songbirds and other wildlife throughout the year.
Landowners interested in the REAP windbreak program should visit the Lee Soil and Water Conservation District office at the USDA Service Center in Donnellson weekdays between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. to receive program details and to apply.
All programs and services of the Lee SWCD are offered on a nondiscriminatory basis, without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, marital status, or handicap.
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