The U.S. Department of Agriculture Accepts 100 Percent of Offers in Georgia Through First Batch of Conservation Reserve Program Continuous Signup

Contact: Jay Ivey
Jay.Ivey@usda.gov
706-510-5318

Athens, GA., Apr. 11, 2024 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) announced that it has accepted 100 percent of the offers submitted by Georgia applicants through the first batch of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) Continuous Signup for a total of 2,150.36 acres. The signup for this first batch period ended on March 15, 2024. The results for this round of CRP Continuous signup reflect the continued importance of CRP as a tool to help producers invest in the long-term health, sustainability, and profitability of their land and resources. The deadline to submit an offer for Continuous CRP is July 31, 2024. 

“This round of CRP Continuous signup is an indication of the value and continued strength of this voluntary conservation program, which plays an important role in helping conserve our natural resources,” said Arthur Tripp, FSA State Executive Director in Georgia. “The success of this program demonstrates a continued interest by our state’s producers and landowners in being good stewards of their land and their eagerness to explore federal programs that support their operational goals.”    

To submit an offer, producers should contact the FSA at their local USDA Service Center by July 31, 2024, in order to have an offer effective by Oct. 1, 2024. To ensure enrollment acreages do not exceed the statutory cap, FSA will accept offers from producers on a first-come, first-served basis and will return offers for approval in batches throughout the year.  

Additionally, producers with acres enrolled in Continuous CRP set to expire Sept. 30, 2024, can now offer acres for re-enrollment. A producer can both enroll new acres into Continuous CRP and re-enroll any acres expiring Sept. 30, 2024.   

FSA water quality practices, such as riparian buffers, prairie strips, grassed waterways, and wetlands, will receive an additional 20% incentive. Buffer practices have a positive impact on water quality. Additionally, the Climate-Smart Practice Incentive launched in 2021 is also available in the Continuous signup.     

There are several enrollment options within Continuous CRP, including:  

• CREP: Working with conservation partners, CREP leverages federal and non-federal funds to target specific state, regional, tribal, or nationally significant conservation concerns.
• State Acres For Wildlife Enhancement (SAFE): The initiative restores vital habitat in order to meet high-priority state wildlife conservation goals.
• Highly Erodible Lands Initiative (HELI): Producers and landowners can enroll in CRP to establish long-term cover on highly erodible cropland that has a weighted erodibility index (EI) greater than or equal to 20.
• Farmable Wetlands Program: Producers and landowners can enroll land in CRP to restore previously farmed wetlands and wetland buffers, improving both vegetation and water flow.   
• Clean Lake Estuaries and Rivers (CLEAR) Initiative and CLEAR30: This initiative prioritizes and offers additional incentives for water quality practices on the land that, if enrolled, will help reduce sediment loadings, nutrient loadings and harmful algal blooms. Through CLEAR30, a component of this initiative, these additional incentives for adoption of water quality practices can be accessed in 30-year contracts.  

More Information    

Signed into law in 1985, CRP is one of the largest voluntary private-lands conservation programs in the United States. 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.      

USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. Under the Biden-Harris administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit www.usda.gov.