Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is opening signup for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) on Dec. 9, 2019. The deadline for agricultural producers to sign up for general CRP is Feb. 28, 2020, while signup for continuous CRP is ongoing.

Farmers and ranchers who enroll in CRP receive a yearly rental payment for voluntarily establishing long-term, resource-conserving plant species, such as approved grasses or trees (known as “covers”) to control soil erosion, improve water quality and develop wildlife habitat on marginally productive agricultural lands.

“The Conservation Reserve Program is one of our nation’s largest conservation endeavors and a critical tool to help producers better manage their operations while conserving natural resources,” Perdue said. “The program marks its 35-year anniversary in 2020, and we’re hoping to see one of our largest signups in many years.”

While 22 million acres are enrolled in CRP, the 2018 farm bill lifted the cap to 27 million acres. This means farmers and ranchers have a chance to enroll in CRP for the first time or continue their participation for another term.

Signed into law in 1985, CRP is one of the largest private-lands conservation programs in the U.S. The program was originally intended primarily to control soil erosion and potentially stabilize commodity prices by taking marginal lands out of production. This farm bill program has evolved over the years to provide a variety of conservation and economic benefits from coast to coast.

Of note, CRP has:

In a statement, Ferd Hoefner, senior strategic advisor for the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC), said with the continuous CRP, including the new water quality- focused CLEAR Initiative, open for business once again, farmers have a vital tool back for reducing run-off by buffering their streams and water bodies.

“It is our strong hope that the continuous signup will never again be shut down, as it has been several times in recent years,” Hoefner said, adding that there is no reason the Farm Service Agency (FSA) could not manage continuous CRP in a way to make sure "the continuous signup is just that – continuous."

He added that while NSAC is pleased that the continuous CRP and CLEAR are starting up again, "we are disappointed that the new interim final rule addresses only the adjunct CLEAR 30 pilot project but not CLEAR itself. This surprising oversight must be corrected in the final version of the rule. We will also be watching closely to see if the farm bill’s signup incentive payments and practice incentive payments for CRP and CLEAR will be fully utilized and made available for all practices and at the maximum levels.”

NSAC explained that the interim final rule includes improvements to the CRP Transition Incentive Program (TIP) made in the 2018 farm bill for increased funding and streamlined requirements. TIP plays a significant role in addressing one of the most pressing barriers for beginning farmers: access to land. Through TIP, CRP-enrolled landowners planning to exit the program can receive incentives to transfer that farmland to a beginning operator. TIP pulls double duty by both creating new farming opportunities for beginning producers and also helping maintain the conservation benefits achieved through CRP.  

“We urge FSA to expand its outreach for the program and we encourage landowners with contracts that expire in coming years to consider participating in TIP,” Hoefner said.