Moody County, South Dakota - During a contract signing ceremony Friday at brothers Jeff, Steve, Mike, and Brad Hemmer's farm, Pheasants Forever (PF), USDA, South Dakota Game Fish & Parks Department and elected officials celebrated the immediate success of a new Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) practice; State Acres For wildlife Enhancement (SAFE). As part of the event, PF requested an additional 500,000 acres nationwide for the program based on strong interest and demand for SAFE in multiple states.

"There is no question the agricultural climate has been changing before our eyes these last twelve months. It's important for conservation to be a major part of the mix going forward. This SAFE practice is clearly the new wave of conservation for America's farmer, rancher, and hunter," explained Dave Nomsen, PF's Vice President of Government Affairs.

While setting acreage goals within all states, the USDA currently has set an overall target acreage of 500,000 SAFE acres nationwide. Acting Agriculture Secretary, Chuck Conner, announced the first projects approved under SAFE at PF's National Pheasant Fest this past January in Saint Paul, Minnesota. During that announcement, Conner approved the first 45 SAFE projects. To date, SAFE has already expanded to 75 projects that will restore and enhance more than 400,000 acres of high priority wildlife habitat across America.

"Clearly, we have a real opportunity to put some of America's most environmentally sensitive and critical habitat acres into a conservation program that farmers, ranchers, and state agencies are embracing. An additional 500,000 acres is an absolute must given the immediate success and opportunity here to protect our water sources, keep our soils on the ground, and create critical habitat for wildlife," added Nomsen. "SAFE is the perfect example of a conservation program that's economically viable for any farm or ranch operation. It is truly wildlife conservation in harmony with agricultural production."

"With the addition of the SAFE contract, we have eight different CRP practices enrolled on our farm," said Steve Hemmer. "For us, farming and conservation go hand-in-hand, and this new SAFE practice paid us a competitive soil rental rate to produce pheasants and protect our soils in the process. We win and so do our neighbors with this SAFE CRP practice."

The success of SAFE is very important when considering escalating land and crop prices, as well as strong demands for additional commodity production. Fortunately, both the Signing and Practice Incentive Payments included in SAFE enrollment make participation in the voluntary program economically viable. The SAFE program has added flexibility, specialization and a state specific focus to the already existing CRP practices. This is done by concentrating on acres located on the most environmentally sensitive land and then establishing the highest priority conservation practices on these generally smaller tracts. SAFE has also been highly effective in targeting the restoration of habitat critical for wildlife species that are threatened, endangered, have suffered significant population declines and/or are considered to be socially or economically valuable. These species include, but are not limited to, pheasants, bobwhite quail, American black bears, Roosevelt elk, bald eagles, salmon, song birds and pollinators.

SAFE projects are available through USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) service centers as part of the ongoing continuous sign-up for the Conservation Reserve Program. For additional information and application assistance regarding SAFE, please contact your local USDA service center or visit www.pheasantsforever.org/page/1/FarmBillBiologists.jsp to find your local Pheasants Forever Farm Bill Biologist.

Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever are non-profit conservation organizations dedicated to the protection and enhancement of pheasant, quail, and other wildlife populations in North America through habitat improvement, land management, public awareness, and education. PF/QF has more than 127,000 members in 700 local chapters across the continent.