It would be more accurately described as a land lease by the government to landowners, whether they be farmers or not. The programs put the land into conservation or some other limited use for periods of 10-30 years, at a set price per acre. The lands continue to be used for hunting and other recreation.
What the article does not state, and in most instances is the case, that for every acre that is put into CRP, there is a like amount of land coming out of CRP, WRP and other programs to become farm land again.
We have some property that borders ours that has been into and out of conservation programs 3 times in the past 50-some-odd years. It is in many cases, a longer term form of crop rotation, since the trees are harvested for wood and paper purposes. It is good for the land, wildlife and the environment in general.
I am not a big proponent of government dollars being used in these programs, but they are largely misunderstood by folks as being some sort of farm subsidy. Putting it under the Department of Agriculture only reinforces this misunderstanding. It is really aggravating to have this misconception repeated over and over again.
An agricultural subsidy is a governmental subsidy paid to farmers and agribusinesses to supplement their income, manage the supply of agricultural commodities, “and influence the cost and supply of such commodities.”
read the last line....