Due to the death of his father, Jimmy Winemiller was forced to start earning a living at age 13 to support himself and his mother. Jimmy Winemiller would eventually be involved in large-scale real estate deals, including, in the early 2000’s, the purchase of 5,800 acres and 4,500 acres of agricultural lands near Marksville and Alexandria, respectively, in the state of Louisiana.
While Mr. Winemiller oversaw farming of the land near Marksville, Louisiana, the land near Alexandria, Louisiana, was leased to local farmers. After three years, both pieces of land were placed under the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and Wetland Reserve Program (WRP) of the United States federal government. The country’s largest private-lands conservation program, CRP was enacted into law in 1985. It provides yearly rental payments to landowners and farmers who voluntarily retire from agricultural production on environmentally sensitive land and plant more species that improve environmental vigor. Land contracts under CRP range in length from 10 to 15 years.
A smaller, yet equally important initiative, WRP was a voluntary program that provided financial and technical support to assist landowners in restoring their wetlands, including farmed wetlands and farmed wetland pastures, through the establishment of long-term conservation practices and protection. As wetlands take many years to restore, contracts extended up to 30 years and conservation easement up to perpetuity. The 2014 Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) repealed WRP but does not alter the validity of WRP agreements, easements, and contracts executed prior to the enactment of ACEP.
While Mr. Winemiller oversaw farming of the land near Marksville, Louisiana, the land near Alexandria, Louisiana, was leased to local farmers. After three years, both pieces of land were placed under the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and Wetland Reserve Program (WRP) of the United States federal government. The country’s largest private-lands conservation program, CRP was enacted into law in 1985. It provides yearly rental payments to landowners and farmers who voluntarily retire from agricultural production on environmentally sensitive land and plant more species that improve environmental vigor. Land contracts under CRP range in length from 10 to 15 years.
A smaller, yet equally important initiative, WRP was a voluntary program that provided financial and technical support to assist landowners in restoring their wetlands, including farmed wetlands and farmed wetland pastures, through the establishment of long-term conservation practices and protection. As wetlands take many years to restore, contracts extended up to 30 years and conservation easement up to perpetuity. The 2014 Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) repealed WRP but does not alter the validity of WRP agreements, easements, and contracts executed prior to the enactment of ACEP.
