CONSERVATION

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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

FARM SERVICE AGENCY FACT SHEET December 2015

Conservation Reserve Program

OVERVIEW

USDA Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) 

Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is a 

voluntary program that contracts with agricultural 

producers so that environmentally sensitive 

agricultural land is not farmed or ranched, but 

instead used for conservation benefits. CRP 

participants establish long-term, resourceconserving plant species, such as approved grasses 

or trees (known as “covers”) to control soil erosion, 

improve water quality and develop wildlife habitat. 

In return, FSA provides participants with rental 

payments and cost-share assistance. Contract 

duration is between 10 and 15 years.

In its 30th year, CRP is authorized by the Food 

Security Act of 1985 and was reauthorized by the 

Agricultural Act of 2014 (the 2014 Farm Bill). The 

program is also governed by regulations published 

in 7 CFR, part 1410. The program is implemented 

by FSA on behalf of USDA’s Commodity Credit 

Corporation.

BENEFITS

CRP protects tens of millions of acres of American 

topsoil from erosion and is designed to safeguard 

the nation’s natural resources. By reducing water 

runoff and sedimentation, CRP protects 

groundwater and helps improve the condition of

lakes, rivers, ponds and streams. The vegetative 

covers also make CRP a major contributor to 

increased wildlife populations in many parts of the 

country.

Since it was established on Dec. 23, 1985, CRP 

has: 

• Prevented more than 9 billion tons of soil from 

eroding, enough soil to fill 600 million dump 

trucks;

• Reduced nitrogen and phosphorous runoff 

relative to annually tilled cropland by 95 and 

85 percent respectively;

• Sequestered an annual average of 49 million 

tons of greenhouse gases, equal to taking 

 9 million cars off the road.

Since 1996, CRP has created nearly 2.7 million 

acres of restored wetlands.

As of 2015, CRP is protecting more than 170,000 

stream miles with riparian forest and grass buffers, 

enough to go around the world 7 times.

ADMINISTRATION 

FSA administers CRP while technical support 

functions are provided by:

• USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation 

Service (NRCS);

• USDA’s National Institute of Food and 

Agriculture (NIFA);

• State forestry agencies;

• Local soil and water conservation districts and;

• Other non-federal providers of technical 

assistance.

GENERAL ENROLLMENT AUTHORITY

Under general enrollment authority, producers can 

offer land for CRP general enrollment only during 

announced enrollment periods. There is a general 

enrollment period scheduled to begin Dec. 1, 2015, 

through Feb. 26, 2016.

CONTINUOUS ENROLLMENT 

AUTHORITY

Under CRP continuous enrollment authority, 

environmentally sensitive land devoted to certain 

conservation practices may be enrolled in CRP at 

any time. Certain eligibility requirements still 

apply, but offers are not subject to competitive 

bidding. Further information on CRP 

continuous enrollments is available in the FSA 

fact sheet “Conservation Reserve Program 

Continuous Enrollments.”
FACT SHEET

Conservation Reserve Program December 2015

GRASSLANDS ENROLLMENTS

CRP Grasslands helps landowners and operators 

protect grassland, including rangeland, and 

pastureland, and certain other lands, while 

maintaining the areas as grazing lands. The 

program emphasizes support for grazing 

operations, plant and animal biodiversity, and 

grassland and land containing shrubs and forbs 

under the greatest threat of conversion. Further 

information on CRP Grassland enrollments is 

available in the FSA fact sheet “Conservation 

Reserve Program (CRP – Grasslands.”

For information on enrolling land in CRP contact 

a local FSA office. To find a local office, visit 

http://offices.usda.gov. 

RANKING LAND OFFERS DURING 

GENERAL ENROLLMENT PERIODS

Offers for CRP contracts are ranked according to 

the Environmental Benefits Index (EBI). FSA 

collects data for each of the EBI factors based on 

the relative environmental benefits for the land 

offered. Each eligible offer is ranked in 

comparison to all other offers and selections made 

from that ranking. FSA uses the following EBI 

factors to assess the environmental benefits for the 

land offered:

• Wildlife habitat benefits resulting from covers 

on contract acres;

• Water quality benefits from reduced erosion, 

runoff and leaching;

• On-farm benefits from reduced erosion;

• Benefits that will likely endure beyond the 

contract period;

• Air quality benefits from reduced wind erosion 

and;

• Cost.

ELIGIBLE PRODUCERS

A producer must have owned or operated the land 

for at least 12 months prior to close of the CRP 

general enrollment period, unless:

• The new owner acquired the land due to the 

previous owner’s death;

• The ownership change occurred due to 

foreclosure where the owner exercised a timely 

right of redemption in accordance with state 

law or;

• The circumstances of the acquisition present 

adequate assurance to FSA that the new owner 

did not acquire the land for the purpose of 

placing it in CRP.

ELIGIBLE LAND

Land must be cropland that is planted or 

considered planted to an agricultural 

commodity for four of six crop years from 2008 

to 2013, and that is physically and legally capable 

of being planted (no planting restrictions due to an 

easement or other legally binding instrument) in a 

normal manner to an agricultural commodity. Land 

also must meet one of the following criteria:

• Have a weighted average erosion index of 

eight or higher;

• Be enrolled in a CRP contract that expires 

Sept. 30 or;

• Be located in a national or state CRP 

conservation priority area.

PAYMENTS

FSA provides CRP participants with annual rental 

payments, including certain incentive payments 

and cost-share assistance:

• Rental Payments

In return for establishing long-term, resourceconserving covers, FSA provides annual rental 

payments to participants. FSA bases rental 

rates on the relative productivity of the soils 

within each county and the average dry-land 

cash rent using data provided by the National 

Agricultural Statistics Service or cash-rent 

equivalent as guidelines. The maximum 

CRP rental rate for each offer is calculated in 

advance of enrollment. Producers may offer 

land at that rate or offer a lower rental rate to 

increase the likelihood that their offer will be 

accepted.

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• Cost-Share Assistance

FSA provides cost-share assistance to 

participants who establish approved cover on 

eligible cropland. The cost-share assistance 

can be an amount not more than 50 percent of 

the participants’ costs in establishing approved 

practices.

OTHER INCENTIVES

FSA may offer additional financial incentives of 

up to 20 percent of the annual payment for certain 

continuous enrollment practices.

MORE INFORMATION

This fact sheet is provided for informational 

purposes only; other restrictions may apply. For 

details, contact your local FSA office. To find your 

local FSA office, visit http://offices.usda.gov. To 

learn more about FSA conservation programs, visit 

www.fsa.usda.gov/conservation.

__________________________________________________

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all of its programs and activities on the basis 

of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where 

applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, 

religion, sexual orientation, political beliefs, genetic information, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual’s 

income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not 

all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with 

disabilities who require alternative means for communication 

of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) 

should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 

(voice and TDD). 

To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Assistant 

Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of the Assistant Secretary 

for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Stop 9410, 

Washington, DC 20250-9410, or call toll-free at (866) 632-

9992 (English) or (800) 877-8339 (TDD) or (866) 377-8642 

(English Federal-relay) or (800) 845-6136 (Spanish Federalrelay). 

USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

FACT SHEET

Conservation Reserve Program December 2015

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