February 2013
Overview
USDA Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is a voluntary program that helps agricultural producers use environmentally sensitive land for conservation benefits. CRP participants plant long-term, resource-conserving covers to improve the quality of water and air, control soil erosion and enhance wildlife habitat. In return, FSA provides participants with rental payments and cost-share assistance.
FSA administers CRP while other USDA agencies and partners provide technical support. More detailed information on CRP is available in the FSA fact sheet “Conservation Reserve Program” located at www.fsa.usda.gov/Internet/FSA_File/crp_prog_0726.pdf
CRP Continuous Sign-Up
Environmentally sensitive land devoted to certain conservation practices may be enrolled in CRP at any time under continuous sign-up. Offers are automatically accepted provided the land and producer meet certain eligibility requirements. Offers for continuous sign-up are not subject to competitive bidding. Continuous sign-up contracts are 10 to 15 years in duration.
To offer land for continuous sign-up, producers should contact their local FSA office.
Contract Effective Date
For continuous sign-up, the effective date of the CRP contract is the first day of the month following the month of approval. In certain circumstances, producers may defer the effective date for up to six months.
If the acreage is currently under CRP contract and is within one year of the scheduled expiration date, the effective date is Oct. 1 following the expiration date.
Eligible Producers
To be eligible for CRP continuous sign-up enrollment, a producer must have owned or operated the land for at least 12 months prior to submitting the offer, unless:
- The new owner acquired the land due to the previous owner’s death;
- The ownership change occurred due to foreclosure where the owner exercised a timely right of redemption in accordance with state law or;
- The circumstances of the acquisition present adequate assurance to FSA that the new owner did not acquire the land for the purpose of placing it in CRP.
Eligible Land
To be eligible for placement in CRP, land must be cropland that is planted or considered planted to an agricultural commodity four of the previous six crop years from 2002 to 2007, and is physically and legally capable of being planted (no planting restrictions due to an easement or other legally binding instrument) in a normal manner to an agricultural commodity.
Eligible Practices
The land must be eligible and suitable for any of the following conservation practices:
- Wildlife habitat buffers;
- Restoration of aquaculture wetlands;
- Wildlife habitat restoration within approved State Areas for Wildlife Enhancement (SAFE) projects;
- Salt tolerant vegetation or;
- Shallow water areas for wildlife.
Land within an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-designated public wellhead area also may be eligible for enrollment on a continuous basis.
CRP Continuous Sign-Up Payments
FSA provides CRP continuous sign-up participants with annual rental payments, including certain incentives and cost-share assistance:
- return for establishing long-term, resource-conserving covers, FSA provides annual rental payments to participants. FSA bases rental rates on the relative productivity of the soils within each county and the average dryland cash rent or cash rent equivalent as guidelines.
- per-acre annual rental rate may not exceed the calculated rate determined in advance of enrollment. While continuous sign-up acceptance is not determined by a competitive offer process, producers may elect to receive an amount less than the maximum payment rate.
- An upfront signing incentive payment (SIP) up to $150 per acre
- The one-time SIP will be made after the contract is approved and all payment eligibility criteria are met and;
- A practice incentive payment (PIP) equal to 40 percent of the eligible installation costs for eligible participants who enroll certain practices. The one-time PIP will be issued after the practice is installed, eligible costs are verified and other payment eligibility criteria are met.
For More Information
For more information on CRP continuous sign-up, contact a local FSA office or visit FSA’s website at www.fsa.usda.gov/crp.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all of its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, political beliefs, genetic information, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD).
To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Stop 9410, Washington, DC 20250-9410, or call toll-free at (866) 632-9992 (English) or (800) 877-8339 (TDD) or (866) 377-8642 (English Federal-relay) or (800) 845-6136 (Spanish Federal-relay).
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
|
