Delaware

Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP)

Overview

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) 

and the State of Delaware are partners in 

implementing a voluntary Conservation 

Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) to 

enroll up to 10,000 acres of agricultural land 

in Kent, New Castle, and Sussex counties. 

The purpose of the Delaware CREP is to 

improve water quality, reduce soil erosion, 

reduce the amount of sediment, phosphorus, 

and other pollutants entering waterbodies, 

improve wildlife habitat, and restore 

wetlands in the Chesapeake Bay, Delaware 

Bay, and Delaware Inland Bays basin. 

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.

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 Delaware CREP, federal and 

state resources are made available to 

program participants to voluntarily enroll 

in CRP 10-15 year contracts. Participants 

remove environmentally sensitive or marginal 

agricultural land from agricultural production 

and convert the land to grasses, trees, 

or other approved vegetation. To be 

eligible to be enrolled in Delaware CREP, 

at least 80 percent of the eligible land 

offered must be physically located within 

the Chesapeake Bay, Delaware Bay, or 

Delaware Inland Bays basin within the 

State. The remaining eligible land offered, 

not to exceed 20 percent of the total 

eligible land offered, must meet both of 

the following to be eligible to be enrolled 

in this CREP:

1. Be contiguous to the eligible land 

offered that is physically located within 

the Chesapeake Bay, Delaware Bay or 

Delaware Inland Bays basin; and 

2. Be enrolled at the same time and under 

the same CRP contract as the eligible land 

physically located within the Chesapeake 

Bay, Delaware Bay or Delaware Inland 

Bays basin. 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. 

For More Info

This fact sheet is provided 

for informational purposes 

only; other restrictions or 

requirements may apply. 

For more information, 

contact your local service 

center and USDA Farm 

Service Agency office: 

farmers.gov/servicelocator. 

Delaware State Farm 

Service Agency

1221 College Park Dr. 

Suite 201

Dover, DE 19904-8724

Phone: (302) 678-4250

Fax: (855) 389-2246

September 2022 xx.fsa.usda.gov fsa.usda.gov
Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) 2

Goals

The goals of the Delaware CREP 

include:

• Reduce nutrient and sediment 

loadings in impaired streams

• Restore and protect wetlands

• Improve water temperature and 

levels of dissolved oxygen, which 

are necessary to support biology 

and wildlife

• Increase upland wildlife habitat 

and create wildlife corridors

Eligible Conservation 

Practices

The following specific CRP 

conservation practices are available:

• CP3A, Hardwood Tree Planting

• CP4D, Permanent Wildlife Habitat

• CP9, Shallow Water Areas for 

Wildlife

• CP21, Filter Strips

• CP22, Riparian Buffer

• CP23, Wetland Restoration

• CP23A, Wetland Restoration, 

Non-Floodplain

Enrollment 

and Eligibility 

Requirements

Enrollment in CRP through the 

Delaware CREP is on a continuous 

basis. To be eligible, land must be 

located in Delaware. Land must 

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 an eligible riparian buffer.

Payments

Under the Delaware CREP, eligible 

participants may receive the following 

payments:

• A one-time signing incentive 

payment (SIP) is paid as follows:

◊ $100 per acre for CP21 and 

CP22

◊ $150 per acre for CP23 and 

CP23A

• A one-time practice incentive 

payment (PIP) equal to 40 percent 

of eligible reimbursable costs 

incurred for installation of CP9, 

CP21, CP22, CP23, and CP23A. 

• An annual rental payment 

consisting of:

◊ A base soil rental rate, 

determined by the soils of the 

land offered

◊ An incentive payment except 

for land enrolled or re-enrolled 

under infeasible-to-farm 

provisions, based on the 

practice and county as follows:

 For practices CP3A, CP22, 

 CP23 and CP23A, the per-acre 

 incentive payment will be up to:

$89 in Kent County

$101 in New Castle County

$82 in Sussex County

 For practices CP4D, CP9 and 

 CP21, the per-acre incentive 

 payment will be up to:

$30 in Kent County

$34 in New Castle County

$28 in Sussex County

• A maintenance incentive payment 

for practice CP22 in accordance 

with FSA National CRP Directives.

• A cost-share payment of up to 

50 percent of the eligible cost to 

install the approved practice. 

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender. September 2022 xx.fsa.usda.gov fsa.usda.gov
Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) 3

Payments

• A one-time Chesapeake Bay 

incentive payment, for practice 

CP22, in an amount equal to (1) 

for land not previously enrolled 

in CRP, $160 per acre times the 

number of acres enrolled times 

the number of full years of the 

CRP contract length; or (2) for 

land previously enrolled in CRP, 

$80 per acre times the number of 

acres enrolled times the number 

of full years of the CRP contract 

length. This one-time payment is 

available only for practice CP22 

and only for land located within 

the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

In addition, the State of Delaware 

provides the following payments to 

eligible participants:

• A per-acre per-year incentive 

payment in an amount equal to:

 For practices CP3A, CP22, 

 CP23 and CP23A, up to:

$33 in Kent County

$37 in New Castle County

$30 in Sussex County

 For practices CP4D, CP9 and 

 CP21, up to:

$17 in Kent County

$19 in New Castle County

$15 in Sussex County

Note: The State of Delaware’s peracre per-year incentive payment will 

be provided as a one-time lump sum 

payment within the first year of the 

approved contract and after practice 

installation.

• A cost-share payment of 37.5 

percent of the eligible cost to install 

the approved practice.

• A one-time Chesapeake Bay 

incentive payment, for practice CP22, 

in an amount equal to (1) for land 

not previously enrolled in CRP, $40 

per acre times the number of acres 

enrolled times the number of full years 

of the CRP contract length; or (2) for 

land previously enrolled in CRP, $20 

per acre times the number of acres 

enrolled times the number of full 

years of the CRP contract length. This 

one-time payment is available only 

for practice CP22 and only for land 

located within the Chesapeake Bay 

Watershed.

Note: The per-acre annual rental 

payment, including the per-acre 

incentive payment provided by the 

State of Delaware, shall not exceed 

$225 for practices CP3A, CP22, CP23 

and CP23A; or $165 for practices 

CP4D, CP9 and CP21

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 Delaware CREP provides 

additional benefits not available 

through general and/or continuous 

signup. Under the Delaware CREP, 

producers receive higher incentive 

payments and longer contract lengths 

that increase the total amount of 

rental payments received.

Haying and Grazing

Contact your local FSA office for more 

information about authorized haying 

and grazing activities.

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