Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program –

West Virginia Cheat, Kanawha, Little Kanawha,

Monongahela, Potomac, and Ohio Rivers Watersheds 

Farm Service Agency

Overview

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

State of West Virginia are partners in implementing a 

voluntary Conservation Reserve Enhancement 

Program (CREP) to enroll up to 9,160 acres of 

agricultural land in the Cheat, Kanawha, Little 

Kanawha, Monongahela, Potomac, and Ohio Rivers 

Watersheds. The West Virginia 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

May 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, 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 

and Security Act of 1985, as amended.

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 West Virginia 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 sediment, nutrients, nitrogen and other 

pollutants from entering streams and rivers, and 

enhance wildlife habitat in the area.
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CREP – WEST VIRGINIA WATERSHEDS - MAY 2018

CP1 Establishment of Permanent

 Introduced Grasses and Legumes

CP2 Establishment of Permanent Native

 Grasses;

CP3A Hardwood Tree Planting

CP21 Filter Strips

CP22 Riparian Buffer

CP23 Wetland Restoration

Goals

The goals of the West Virginia CREP are to:

• Reduce sediments, nutrients, nitrogen and other

 pollutants from entering waterbodies;

• Reduce soil erosion;

• Improve water quality through wetland restoration;

 and

• Enhance wildlife habitat, including aquatic wildlife.

Eligible Conservation Practices

The following specific CRP conservation practices are 

available:

Enrollment and Eligibility 

Requirements

Enrollment for the West Virginia 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 is also eligible for 

enrollment provided it is suitable for use as a riparian 

buffer planted to trees.

Payments

Under the West Virginia CREP, eligible participants 

may receive the following payments:

• A one-time signing incentive payment (SIP) of $100

 per acre for installing practices CP21 and CP22; or

 $150 per acre for installing practice CP23. Example:

 10 acres enrolled to be devoted to practice CP22

 result in a $1,000 (10 acres x $100) SIP. This

 payment is made soon after the contract has been

 signed and approved.

• A one-time practice incentive payment (PIP) for

 installing practices CP21, CP22, and CP23. The PIP

 is equal to 40 percent of eligible cost of installing the

 practice. Example: Producer’s total eligible cost of

 installing the practice is $2,000. The PIP would be

 $800 ($2,000 x .40).

• 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 100 percent; and

 - A maintenance payment, determined by the

 practice offered.

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

 eligible reimbursable cost to install the approved

 practice.
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CREP – WEST VIRGINIA WATERSHEDS - MAY 2018

• A one-time Chesapeake Bay incentive payment

 (CBIP) in an amount equal to (1) $200 per acre for

 land not previously enrolled in CRP; and (2) $500

 per acre for land currently enrolled in CRP that is

 re-enrolled. This one-time payment is available for

 practice CP22 only, only for land located within the

 Chesapeake Bay Watershed, and only for CRP

 contracts that are 14 to 15 years in duration.

 Example: 10 acres of land currently enrolled in CRP

 located within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed are

 re-enrolled in CRP to be devoted to practice CP22

 under a 15-year contract. The one-time CBIP is

 $5,000 ($500 x 10 acres).

In addition, the State of West Virginia provides the 

following payments to eligible participants:

• A one-time lump-sum incentive payment the base

 soil rental rate times the number of acres enrolled;

 and

• A one-time incentive payment in an amount equal to

 $40 per acre. This one-time payment is available for

 practice CP22 only, only for land located within the

 Chesapeake Bay Watershed, and only for CRP

 contracts that are 14 to 15 years in duration.

Examples

A Hampshire County producer elects to re-enroll 10 

acres of land currently enrolled in CRP as a riparian 

buffer (practice CP22) in a 15-year contract. The base 

soil rental rate for the land is $34 per acre. The 

per-acre incentive payment is $34 per acre ($34 x 1.0). 

The annual per-acre maintenance payment is $10 per 

acre. The producer’s annual rental rate will be $78 per 

acre ($34 + $34 + $10), for a total annual payment of 

$780 ($78 x 10 acres). The producer will receive 

$11,700 in annual rental payments over the 15-year 

term of the CRP contract. In addition, the producer 

will receive the following payments:

• A one-time lump-sum incentive payment from the

 State of West Virginia of $340;

• A one-time Chesapeake Bay incentive payment from

 FSA of $5,000; and

• A one-time incentive payment from the State of

 West Virginia of $400.

A Mercer County producer elects to enroll 40 acres of 

to be devoted to hardwood trees (practice CP3A) in a 

15-year contract. The base soil rental rate for the land 

is $45 per acre. The per-acre incentive payment is $45 

per acre ($45 x 1.0). The producer’s annual rental rate 

will be $90 per acre ($45 + $45), for a total annual 

payment of $3,600 ($90 x 40 acres). The producer will 

receive $54,000 in annual rental payments over the 

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

producer will receive the following payments:

• Cost-share payments equal to 50 percent of the

 eligible reimbursable costs to install the practice; and

• A one-time lump-sum incentive payment from the

 State of West Virginia of $1,800 ($45 x 40 acres);

Note: The preceding are examples only.
4 USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender.

CREP – WEST VIRGINIA WATERSHEDS - MAY 2018

Enrollment Options

CREP is another option under CRP that farmers and 

ranchers may select to enhance their land. Eligible 

producers may still enroll land in CRP through general 

or continuous signup; however, the West Virginia 

CREP provides additional benefits not available 

through the general and/or continuous signup. Under 

the West Virginia CREP, producers receive higher 

incentive payments that increase the total amount of 

rental payments received. In addition, the State of West 

Virginia provides additional incentive payments to 

eligible producers.

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.