Conservation Reserve Program

Basic Eligibility Rules

Highly erodible cropland that is planted or considered planted in 4 of the previous 6 crop years, and that can be planted in a normal manner;  Marginal pasture that is suitable for use as a riparian buffer or for similar habitat or water quality purposes; Ecologically significant grasslands that contain forbs or shrubs for grazing; and A farmable wetland and related buffers

Available funding for FY26 (national total)

$2,059,000,000 (Farm bill budget authority)

Land tenure and property right rules

To be eligible to enroll in CRP, a producer must have owned or operated the land for at least 12 months preceding the first year of the contract period, unless: The new owner acquired the land due to the previous owner’s death; The ownership change occurred due to a foreclosure; or FSA is otherwise satisfied that the new owner did not acquire the land for the purpose of placing it in CRP

Practices covered

land must  be taken out of production and put into conserving uses.  For General sign-ups, Agricultural land is bid into the general signup for CRP on a competitive basis and ranked using an Environmental Benefits Index (EBI).   For continuous sign-ups,  CRP pays farmers to install partial field conservation practices (primarily conservation buffers or wildlife habitat).

Cost share requirements

Payments under CRP consist of three components:  1) Rental Payments: FSA bases rental rates on the productivity of the soils within each county and the average dryland cash rent. The maximum rental rate for each offer is calculated in advance of enrollment in the program. Producers may offer land at that rate or offer a lower rental rate to increase the likelihood that their offer will be accepted. The 2018 Farm Bill limits the rental payments available for CRP enrollments to 85 percent of the average county rental rate for general enrollment, and 90 percent of that estimated rate for continuous enrollments.2) Cost share assistance:  FSA provides up to 50 percent cost-share of the actual or average cost of establishing the practice. 3) Incentive Payments: USDA may make additional payments up to the actual cost of thinning and other practices to improve the condition of resources promote forest management, or enhance wildlife habitat. The farm bill also maintains incentives for continuous practices, including signing incentives at a rate equal to 32.5 percent of the original rental payment, incentive bonuses for additional cost-share, as well as those related to specific practices, including buffers and wellhead areas, for certain high conservation value projects.

Other cost information

The farm bill allows producers with expiring CRP land to enroll in the Conservation Stewardship Program in the final year of their CRP contract, so long as no double payments are made. Lastly, the bill provides two years of extra rental payments to owners of expiring CRP land who rent or sell their land to a beginning, socially disadvantaged, or veteran producer who will practice conservation on the land through the Transition Incentives Program.

Individual funding caps or income restrictions

$50,000 limit per entity for annual CRP rental payments.  Three-year average AGI may not exceed $900,000, unless at least two-thirds of income is derived from agriculture.

Other Restrictions or Requirements

CRP haying and grazing provides for emergency haying and grazing on certain CRP practices in a county designated as D2 or higher on the U.S. Drought Monitor, or in a county where there is at least 40 percent loss in forage production.

length of contracts

contracts are 10 to 15 years in length–longer agreements are for tree plantings.

program established

established in Food Security Act of 1985

share of proposals funded over time

58 percent of acres offered under 2023 CRP general signup were accepted.