Conservation Reserve 

Enhancement Program

(CREP)

Overview

The Conservation Reserve Enhancement 

Program (CREP) is a component of the USDA 

Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) Conservation 

Reserve Program (CRP). CREP is a publicprivate partnership program, allowing states, 

Tribal governments, non-profit and private 

entities to partner with FSA to implement 

CRP practices that address high priority 

conservation and environmental objectives. 

Partners work with FSA to develop 

CREP agreements designed to address 

conservation goals on agricultural lands 

in specific geographic areas. Possible 

conservation practices that can be 

implemented include riparian buffers, filter 

strips, wetlands, and pollinator plantings. 

Partners work with FSA to define practices 

that achieve substantial on-site and off-site 

natural resource benefits targeting one or 

more of the following goals:

• Restore/establish wildlife habitat

• Maintain or improve grassland

productivity

• Enhance water quality

• Reduce soil erosion

• Enhance air quality

• Restore/enhance wetlands

• Promote conservation forestry

• Increase control of critical invasive

species

• Enhance critical threatened and

endangered plant and animal

species survival

• Achieve a net water savings in ground

and/or surface waters and conserve

energy.

FSA encourages CREP agreements that 

target multiple natural resource concerns to 

maximize conservation benefits. 

CREP Agreement

CREP is administered under the same 

statutes and Federal regulations as CRP. 

The following statutory requirements are 

applicable to all CREPs:

• Eligible land must have cropping history

for four out of the past six years

• $900,000 Adjusted Gross Income (AGI)

limitation for a person or legal entity

• County average soil rental rate

• Producers receive a 32.5 percent

Sign-up Incentive Payment (SIP) at

the time of sign up

• Per-practice cost share from USDA,

Practice Incentive Payment , plus any

cost share payments from other sources

combined, cannot exceed

100 percent of the cost of establishing

the practice

• Annual payment limitation of $50,000

per producer

• CRP enrollment is limited to no more

than 25 percent of the total cropland in

a county

• If applicable, the riparian buffer practice

can receive a management payment to

offset the cost of managing the buffer

The following discretionary provisions may 

be negotiated for each CREP Agreement:

• Practice Incentive Payment rate1

• Additional practice or rental rate

incentives

1Practice Incentive Payment (PIP) is a one-time 

incentive payment made to an eligible participant to 

whom USDA has made a C/S payment for completing 

the installation of a CRP practice that is an eligible 

continuous CRP signup practice.

For More Info

CREP is one option under CRP 

that farmers and ranchers may 

select to enhance their land. 

Eligible producers may also 

enroll land in CRP through 

the general, continuous, or 

grassland signups; however, 

CREP may provide additional 

benefits not available through 

those signup types such as 

higher incentive payments and 

longer contract lengths that 

increase the total amount of 

rental payments received.

For more information on CREP, 

contact the CREP Program 

Manager or East, Central, or 

West CREP/CRP Regional 

Specialists.

CREP Program Manager

Kim Martin 

Kimberly.Martin@usda.gov

CREP/CRP Regional 

Specialists:

East: Johanna Davis 

Johanna.Davis@usda.gov 

Central: Nathalie Nemitz

Nathalie.Nemitz@usda.gov

West: Patrick Lewis 

Patrick.Lewis@usda.gov

DECEMBER 2021 fsa.usda.gov
CONSERVATION RESERVE ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM 2

CREP Partner 

Commitments

Partners can match USDA’s 

commitments in the form of cash, 

in-kind contributions, or technical 

assistance. Each CREP agreement 

requires the partner to provide an 

annual performance report which 

details program accomplishments, 

contributions to the project, and 

progress in meeting program goals. 

Federal Commitments

To meet CREP goals, USDA provides 

financial, educational, and technical 

assistance to help producers 

voluntarily implement conservation 

practices that will enhance the 

environment in an economically 

efficient manner. 

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender. fsa.usda.gov

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Map created by DAFP/CD/CSB September 9, 2021

State Boundary

East Region

Central Region

West Region

CREP REGION MAP

Forested buffers, such as the one that will be created by these new trees, improve water quality by reducing stream bank erosion, 

filtering runoff, reducing flooding, and more. Photo and caption: Chesapeake Bay Foundation.