The landowner receives an annual rental payment for agreeing to stabilize the land. It was revised in 1996 to give greater consideration to wildlife habitat, water quality an d other environmental values. Landowners bid to place their land in the CRP during announced signup periods. During last fall's signup, Tennessee farmers offered 73,965 acres. USDA rates bids on the rental rate that owners request and on environmental benefits.
All bids compete in a national pool for acceptance.
Nationally, landowners offered 9.5 million acres, and USDA accepted bids on 5.9 million acres, or about 62 percent. More than 250,000 acres of land in Tennessee are currently in the CRP program as a result of past signups. Another general CRP signup will probably be held this fall, the soil scientist said. But there's a continuous CRP signup for parts of fields that will be converted to waterways, filter strips, field borders or riparian buffers. He said interested landowners should check with the local Natural Resources Conservation Service office for more information.