Conservation Reserve

Enhancement Program – NORTH CAROLINA

Farm Service Agency

Overview

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the 

State of North Carolina are partners in implementing a 

voluntary Conservation Reserve Enhancement 

Program (CREP) to enroll up to 100,000 acres of 

agricultural land in the Neuse, Tar-Pamlico, Chowan, 

Lumber, White Oak, Yadkin-PeeDee, Cape Fear 

(including Jordan Lake), Roanoke and Pasquotank 

River Basins, which includes all or a portion of the 

following counties: Alamance, Alexander, Anson, 

Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Brunswick, Cabarrus, 

Caldwell, Camden, Carteret, Caswell, Chatham, 

Chowan, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, Currituck, 

Dare, Davidson, Davie, Duplin, Durham, Edgecombe, 

Forsyth, Franklin, Gates, Granville, Greene, Guilford, 

Halifax, Harnett, Hertford, Hoke, Hyde, Iredell, 

Johnston, Jones, Lee, Lenoir, Martin, Montgomery, 

Moore, Nash, New Hanover, Northampton, Onslow, 

Orange, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Pender, Perquimans, 

Person, Pitt, Randolph, Richmond, Robeson, 

Rockingham, Rowan, Sampson, Scotland, Stanly, 

Stokes, Surry, Tyrrell, Union, Vance, Wake, Warren, 

Washington, Watauga, Wayne, Wilkes, Wilson and 

Yadkin. 

The North Carolina CREP is intended to improve 

water quality, reduce soil erosion, reduce the amount 

of sediment, phosphorous and other pollutants entering 

waterbodies, improve wildlife habitat and restore 

wetlands.

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FACT SHEET

March 2018

CONSERVATION

Background

CREP is part of the USDA Conservation Reserve 

Program (CRP). CRP is a federally funded 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 permanent, 

resource-conserving plant species, such as approved 

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

erosion, improve water quality and develop wildlife 

habitat. In return, the Farm Service Agency (FSA) 

provides participants with rental payments and 

cost-share assistance. CRP is authorized by the Food 

Security Act of 1985 and was reauthorized by the 

Agricultural Act of 2014.

With CREP, high-priority conservation goals are 

identified by the state, and then federal funds are 

supplemented with non-federal funds to achieve those 

goals.

Through the North Carolina CREP, federal and state 

resources are made available to program participants 

to voluntarily enroll in CRP for 10-year to 15-year 

contracts. Participants remove cropland and marginal 

pastureland from agricultural production and convert 

the land to native grasses, trees and other vegetation or 

restore wetlands. This will improve water quality by 

reducing soil runoff, increasing ground water 

absorption and reducing stream sedimentation and 

nutrient loading from crop fields. It will also enhance 

and restore plant and wildlife habitat and wetlands.
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CREP – NORTH CAROLINA - MARCH 2018

Goals

The goals of the North Carolina CREP are to:

• Reduce the amount of sediment, nitrogen,

 phosphorous and other pollutants from reaching

 streams and waterbodies;

• Restore and protect wetlands; and

• Restore and enhance riparian habitat corridors next

 to streams, drainage ditches, estuaries, wetlands and

 other water courses.

Eligible Conservation Practices

The following specific CRP conservation practices are 

available:

Enrollment and

Eligibility Requirements

Enrollment for the North Carolina CREP is on a 

continuous basis. To be eligible, land must be located 

in the project area and be either cropland or marginal 

pastureland. Cropland must meet cropping history 

criteria and be physically and legally capable of being 

planted in a normal manner to an agricultural 

commodity. Marginal pastureland along streams may 

also be eligible for enrollment.

Producers must enter into a permanent conservation 

agreement with the state for land to be eligible to be 

enrolled in the North Carolina CREP as CP23 or 

CP23A.

Producers must enter into a 15-year or permanent 

conservation agreement with the state for land enrolled 

in riparian areas under practices CP3, CP3A, CP21, 

CP22 and CP31 that are an average width greater than 

100 feet and total 10 acres or more per FSA tract. No 

conservation agreement is required when the land 

enrolled in the North Carolina CREP is less than 10 

acres.

CP3 Tree Planting

CP3A Hardwood Tree Planting

CP21 Filter Strips

CP22 Riparian Buffer

CP23 Wetland Restoration

CP23A Wetland Restoration, Non-Floodplain 

CP31 Bottomland Timber Establishment

 on Wetlands
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CREP – NORTH CAROLINA - MARCH 2018

Payments

Under the North Carolina CREP, eligible participants 

may receive the following payments:

• A cost-share payment of up to 50 percent of the

 eligible reimbursable cost to install the approved

 conservation practice.

• An annual rental payment consisting of:

 - A base soil rental rate determined by (1) for

 cropland, the three predominant soils of the land

 offered; or (2) for marginal pastureland, the posted

 marginal pastureland rate for the county;

 - An incentive payment, as a percentage of the base

 soil rental rate, of 70 percent for practice CP21,

 and 100 percent for practices CP3, CP3A, CP22,

 CP23, CP23A and CP31; and

 Note: The incentive payment does not apply to 

 re-enrolled land.

 - A maintenance payment determined by the practice

 offered.

 Note: A maximum per-acre rental rate cap may

 be applied.

In addition, the State of North Carolina provides the 

following payments to eligible participants:

• A cost-share payment of:

 - 25 percent of the eligible reimbursable cost to

 install the approved conservation practice for

 producers who enroll solely in a 10-year

 CRP contract;

 - 30 percent of the eligible reimbursable cost to

 install the approved conservation practice for

 producers who enroll solely in a 14-year to 15-year

 CRP contract;

 - 40 percent of the eligible reimbursable cost to

 install practice CP3, CP3A, CP21, CP22 or CP31,

 and enroll in a 30-year conservation agreement

 with the state; and

 - 50 percent of the eligible reimbursable cost to

 install practice CP3, CP3A, CP22, CP23, CP23A

 or CP31, and enroll in a permanent conservation

 agreement with the state.

• A one-time incentive payment of $250 per acre for

 land enrolled in a 30-year easement with the state.

• A one-time incentive payment of $1,000 per acre for

 land enrolled in a permanent easement with the state.

 Note: Not all state payments apply to re-enrolled

 land.
4 USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender.

CREP – NORTH CAROLINA - MARCH 2018

Examples

A Gates County producer elects to enroll 10 acres of 

land to be devoted to a riparian buffer (practice CP22) 

in a 15-year contract, and enters into a permanent 

easement with the state. The base soil rental rate for 

the land is $70 per acre. The incentive payment is $70 

per acre ($70 x 1.0). The annual maintenance payment 

is $10 per acre. The producer’s annual rental rate will 

be $150 per acre ($70 + $70 + $10), for a total annual 

payment of $1,500 ($150 x 10 acres). The producer 

will receive $22,500 in annual rental payments over 

the 15-year term of the CRP contract. In addition, the 

producer will receive a one-time incentive payment of 

$10,000 (10 acres x $1,000) from the state. The 

producer will receive cost-share payments equal to 100 

percent (50 percent from the Commodity Credit 

Corporation (CCC) and 50 percent from North 

Carolina) of the eligible reimbursable costs to install 

the riparian buffer. The producer will have no 

out-of-pocket costs for installing the riparian buffer.

A Franklin County producer elects to enroll 20 acres of 

land to be devoted to a restored wetland (practice 

CP23) in a 15-year contract, and enters into a 

permanent easement with the state. The base soil rental 

rate for the land is $59 per acre. The incentive payment 

is $59 per acre ($59 x 1.0). The producer’s annual 

rental rate will be $118 per acre ($59 + $59), for a total 

annual payment of $2,360 ($118 x 20 acres). The 

producer will receive $35,400 in annual rental 

payments over the 15-year term of the CRP contract. 

In addition, the producer will receive a one-time 

incentive payment of $20,000 (20 acres x $1,000) from 

the state. The producer will receive cost-share 

payments equal to 100 percent (50 percent from CCC 

and 50 percent from North Carolina) of the eligible 

reimbursable costs to install the restored wetland. The 

producer will have no out-of-pocket costs for installing 

the restored wetland.

Note: The preceding are examples only.

Enrollment Options

CREP is another option under CRP that farmers and 

ranchers may select for their land. Eligible producers 

may still enroll eligible land in CRP through general or 

continuous signup; however, the North Carolina CREP 

provides additional benefits not available through 

general and/or continuous signup. Under the North 

Carolina CREP, producers receive higher incentive 

payments and have flexibility to extend the duration of 

their CRP contracts that increase the total amount of 

rental payments received.

Haying and Grazing

Haying and grazing are not allowed during the CRP 

contract period unless authorized by USDA. Contact 

your local FSA office for more information about 

authorized haying and grazing activities.

For More Information

This fact sheet is provided for informational purposes 

only; other restrictions or requirements may apply. For 

more information on CREP, contact your local FSA 

office. To find your local FSA county office, visit 

http://offices.usda.gov. To learn more about FSA 

conservation programs, visit 

www.fsa.usda.gov/conservation.