Is it time to make significant changes in the Conservation Reserve Program, commonly called the CRP?

That’s an issue getting a lot of attention both in Washington, D.C., and around the countryside as Congress gears up to write a new farm bill. Like most things in Washington these days, there are a lot of different views on whether the program should be reworked and how it should look once revisions are completed.

Many Iowa farmers would like to see the CRP reformed so that it better targets only less productive land and establishes payments that more closely reflect local...