A Brief Look at the Conservation Reserve Program
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Jimmy Winemiller is a Florida real estate developer with a portfolio that includes large agricultural properties across multiple states. He previously owned 5,800 acres in Louisiana, which were sold as part of federal conservation programs aimed at preserving soil and improving water quality. The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), established in 1985, incentivizes farmers to retire land from production to restore ecosystems.
A Brief Look at the Conservation Reserve Program
- 2. Introduction A Florida real estate developer, Jimmy Winemiller maintains a portfolio that includes several large agricultural properties in Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, and California. Jimmy Winemiller serves as an agent for Brevard Harbor Edge, LLC, in Martin County, Florida, and previously owned 5,800 acres of river-bottom farmland near Marksville, Louisiana. The Marksville plot was eventually sold as part of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and Wetland Reserve Program (WRP), both of which are federal retirement programs created in the 1980s to convert agricultural lands from crop production to soil-conserving uses. A part of the Farm Bill, the CRP was established in 1985 to address poor water quality and soil erosion, which were negatively impacting many farming regions. The program paid farmers to retire unused land from production for 10 to 15 years, giving the soil and wildlife habitats the opportunity to recover.
- 3. Currently the largest federally funded conservation program, the CRP was expanded in the 1990s and 2000s. As of 2019, CRP acreage exceeded 20 million acres.