continues

Conservation Reserve Program

1

Overview

USDA Farm Service Agencyís

(FSA) Conservation Reserve

Program (CRP) is a voluntary

program available to agricultural

producers to help them safeguard

environmentally sensitive land.

Producers enrolled in CRP plant

long-term, resource-conserving

covers to improve the quality of

water, control soil erosion, and

enhance wildlife habitat. In return,

FSA provides participants with

rental payments and cost-share

assistance. Contract duration is

between 10 and 15 years.

The Food Security Act of 1985, as

amended, authorized CRP. The

program is also governed by

regulations published in 7 CFR, part

1410. The program is implemented

by FSA on behalf of USDAís Commodity Credit Corporation.

Benefits

CRP protects millions of acres of

American topsoil from erosion and

is designed to safeguard the

Nationís natural resources. By

reducing water runoff and sedimentation, CRP protects groundwater

and helps improve the condition of

lakes, rivers, ponds, and streams.

Acreage enrolled in the CRP is

planted to resource-conserving

vegetative covers, making the

program a major contributor to

increased wildlife populations in

many parts of the country.

CRP Administration

FSA administers CRP, while technical

support functions are provided by:

■ USDAís Natural Resources

Conservation Service (NRCS);

■ USDAís Cooperative State

Research, Education, and

Extension Service;

■ State forestry agencies;

■ Local soil and water conservation districts; and

■ Private sector providers of

technical assistance.

CRP General Sign-up

Producers can offer land for CRP

general sign-up enrollment only

during designated sign-up periods.

For information on upcoming signups, contact your local FSA office.

To find your local office, visit FSAís

Web site at: http://oip.usda.gov/

scripts/ndisapi.dll/oip_agency/

index?state=us&agency=fsa

CRP Continuous Sign-up

Environmentally desirable land

devoted to certain conservation

practices may be enrolled at any

time under CRP continuous signup. Certain eligibility requirements

still apply, but offers are not subject

to competitive bidding. Further

information on CRP continuous

sign-up is available in the FSA fact

sheet ìConservation Reserve

Program Continuous Sign-up.î

Eligible Producers

To be eligible for CRP enrollment, a

producer must have owned or

operated the land for at least 12

months prior to close of the CRP

sign-up period, unless:

■ The new owner acquired the

land due to the previous

ownerís death;

■ The ownership change occurred due to foreclosure where

the owner exercised a timely

right or 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

To be eligible for placement in CRP,

land must be either:

■ Cropland (including field margins) that is planted or considered planted to an agricultural

commodity 4 of the previous 6

crop years from 1996 to 2001,

and which is physically and

legally capable of being planted

in a normal manner to an

agricultural commodity; or

■ Certain marginal pastureland

that is enrolled in the Water

Bank Program or suitable for

use as a riparian buffer or for

similar water quality purposes.

Fact Sheet April 2003
2

Fact Sheet

Conservation Reserve Program

Additional Cropland Requirements

In addition to the eligible land

requirements, cropland must meet

one of the following criteria:

■ Have a weighted average

erosion index of 8 or higher;

■ Be expiring CRP acreage; or

■ Be located in a national or state

CRP conservation priority area.

CRP Payments

FSA provides CRP participants with

annual rental payments, including

certain incentive payments, and

cost-share assistance:

■ Rental Payments

In return for establishing longterm, resource-conserving

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 dryland cash rent or

cash-rent equivalent. 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.

■ Maintenance Incentive Payments

CRP annual rental payments

may include an additional

amount up to $5 per acre per

year as an incentive to perform

certain maintenance obligations.

■ Cost-share Assistance

FSA provides cost-share

assistance to participants who

establish approved cover on

eligible cropland. The costshare assistance can be an

amount not more than 50

percent of the participantsí

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 sign-up

practices.

Ranking CRP Offers

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 acreage;

■ 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.

For More Information

For more information on CRP,

contact your local FSA office or visit

FSAís Web site at: http://

www.fsa.usda.gov/dafp/cepd/

crp.htm

The United States Department of Agriculture

(USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color,

national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital or

family status. (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 USDAís TARGET

Center at 202-720-2600 (voice and TDD).

To file a complaint of discrimination, write

USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room

326-W, Whitten Building, 1400 Independence

Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or

call (202) 720-5964 (voice and TDD). USDA is

an equal opportunity provider and employer.