Since the passage of the 1985 Farm Bill, private landowners have had a tremendous opportunity to develop wildlife habitat on their lands using Farm Bill Programs.
Many programs are available to assist landowners.
NRCS provides technical assistance on all these programs. Large acreages are enrolled periodically through a traditional national sign-up. There is a continuous sign-up for certain practices such as riparian buffers that affect small acreages. CRP is similar to the old Soil Bank Program of the late 50's and early 60's. Landowners receive annual payments based on rental rates for specific soil types on their farms.