Conservation 

Reserve Program

Continuous Enrollment Period

Overview

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is accepting offers for 

specific conservation practices under the Conservation Reserve 

Program Continuous Signup.

The USDA Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) CRP is a voluntary program 

that contracts with agricultural producers so that environmentally 

sensitive agricultural land is devoted to conservation benefits. CRP 

participants establish long-term, resource-conserving vegetative 

species, such as approved grasses or trees (known as “covers”), to 

control soil erosion, improve the water quality and enhance wildlife 

habitat. In return, FSA provides participants with annual rental 

payments and cost-share assistance. Continuous signup enrollment 

contracts are 10 to 15 years in duration.

On Nov. 16, 2023, President Biden signed into law, H.R. 6363, 

the Further Continuing Appropriations and Other Extensions Act, 

2024, which extended the 2018 Farm Bill. This extension now 

allows authorized programs, including Continuous CRP, to continue 

through Sept. 30, 2024.

Benefits

CRP protects 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. 

Administration

FSA administers CRP while technical support functions are 

provided by:

 USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS);

 State forestry agencies;

 Local soil and water conservation districts; and

 Other non-federal providers of technical assistance. 

Continuous Enrollment

To submit an offer for Continuous CRP signup, producers should 

contact the FSA at their local USDA Service Center by July 31, 

2024, in order to have an offer effective by Oct. 1, 2024. To ensure 

enrollment acreages do not exceed the statutory cap, FSA will 

accept offers from producers on a first-come, first-served basis and 

will return offers for approval in batches throughout the year. 

Additionally, producers with acres enrolled in Continuous CRP set 

to expire September 30, 2024, can offer acres for re-enrollment 

beginning Jan. 12, 2024. A producer can both enroll new acres 

into Continuous CRP and re-enroll any acres expiring September 

30, 2024.

To find your local FSA office visit https://offices.sc.egov.usda.gov/

locator/app. 

Who is Eligible?

A producer must have owned or operated the land for at least 12 

months prior to submitting the offer, 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.

JANUARY 2024 fsa.usda.gov
CRP — CONTINUOUS ENROLLMENT PERIOD 2

Eligible Land

Land must be cropland that is planted or considered planted to 

an agricultural commodity four of the six crop years from 2012 

to 2017 and 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. 

Certain marginal pastureland that may be devoted to riparian 

buffers, wildlife habitat buffers, or wetland buffers is also eligible.

Eligible Practices

Land must be eligible and suitable for any of the following 

conservation practices:

 Grass Waterway

 Shallow Water Area for Wildlife

 Contour Grass Strip

 Filter Strip

 Riparian Buffer

 Denitrifying Bioreactor on Filter Strip and Riparian Buffer

 Saturated Filter Strip and Riparian Buffer

 Habitat Buffers for Upland Birds

 Wetland & Buffer SAFE Practices

 Wetland Restoration on Floodplain and Non- floodplain

 Prairie Strips

 Windbreaks, Shelterbelts and Living Snow Fences

 Marginal Pastureland Wetland Buffer and Wildlife Habitat 

Buffers

 Long Leaf Pine Establishment

 Duck Nesting Habitat

 Pollinator Habitat

 Bottomland Timber Establishment on Wetlands

 Farmable Wetlands Program (FWP) Constructed Wetland

 FWP Aquaculture Wetland Restoration

 FWP Flooded Prairie Wetland

 Farmable Wetlands and Farmable Wetland Buffer

 Wellhead Protection Area Practices

 State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement (SAFE)

 Highly Erodible Land Initiative (HELI)

Payments

Under CRP continuous signup, FSA provides eligible participants 

with annual rental payments and cost-share assistance.

A Signup Incentive Payment of 32.5 percent of the first full year 

annual rental payment is paid at contract approval on all newly 

enrolled Continuous CRP contract acreage. A Practice Incentive 

Payment of up to 50 percent is paid for installing the practice.

Annual Rental Payments

 In return for establishing long-term, resourceconserving 

covers, FSA provides annual rental payments at 90 percent 

of the existing rate to eligible CRP continuous participants 

based on per acre cropland and marginal pasture land rental 

rates, plus a 10 percent “inflationary” adjustment, determined 

by FSA.

 The per-acre annual rental rate may not exceed the calculated 

rate or $300/acre. Producers may elect to receive a rental 

rate amount less than the maximum payment rate.

 Climate-Smart Practice Incentive: FSA provides an incentive 

of 3, 5, or 10 percent for CRP practices that will increase 

carbon sequestration, reduce GHG emissions, and otherwise 

are climate smart practices. The incentive amount is based on 

the estimated benefits of each practice.

 Water Quality Incentive: FSA provides a 20 percent rental 

rate incentive for CRP water quality practices that will 

improve water quality by reducing sediment loading, nutrient 

loading and harmful algae blooms.

Cost-Share Assistance

Cost-share of up to 50 percent of the re- reimbursable cost of 

installing the practice is provided by FSA. Cost-share assistance is 

not available for any management activity.

More Information

For more information about FSA and its programs, visit www.fsa.

usda.gov or contact your local FSA office. To find your local FSA 

office, visit: farmers.gov/service-locator.

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