|
 This signup is available to farmers and private landowners who
are either enrolling for the first time or re-enrolling for
another 10- to 15-year term.
Farmers and ranchers who enroll in CRP receive yearly rental
payments for voluntarily establishing long-term,
resource-conserving plant species, such as approved grasses or
trees (known as “covers”), which can control soil erosion,
improve water quality and develop wildlife habitat on marginally
productive agricultural lands.
CRP has 22 million acres enrolled, but the 2018 Farm Bill lifted
the cap to 27 million acres.
Signed into law in 1985, CRP is one of the largest private-lands
conservation programs in the U.S. It was originally intended to
primarily control soil erosion and potentially stabilize
commodity prices by taking marginal lands out of production. The
program has evolved over the years, providing many conservation
and economic benefits. Marking its 35th anniversary in 2020, CRP
has had many successes, including:
Preventing more than 9 billion tons of soil from eroding, enough
soil to fill 600 million dump trucks;
Reducing nitrogen and phosphorous runoff relative to annually
tilled cropland by 95 and 85 percent respectively;
[to top of second column] |
Sequestering an annual average of 49 million tons of greenhouse
gases, equal to taking 9 million cars off the road;
Creating more than 3 million acres of restored
wetlands while protecting more than 175,000 stream miles with
riparian forest and grass buffers, enough to go around the world 7
times; and
Benefiting bees and other pollinators and increased populations of
ducks, pheasants, turkey, bobwhite quail, prairie chickens,
grasshopper sparrows and many other birds.
The CRP continuous signup is ongoing, which enables producers to
enroll for certain practices. FSA plans to open the 2020 CRP
Grasslands signup from March 16, 2020 to May 15, 2020.
To enroll in CRP, contact your local FSA county office or visit
fsa.usda.gov/crp. To locate your local FSA office, visit farmers.gov/service-locator.
[USDA FARM SERVICE AGENCY]
 |
