Home Farm Policy Menu Making Sense of Federal Programs Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and CRP Continuous Sign-Up Sustainable Farming Connection Where farmers find and share information. Making Sense of Federal Programs: Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and CRP Continuous Sign-Up Farmers signing Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contracts agree to move highly erodible or environmentally sensitive cropland into approved conservation uses. In exchange for converting and maintaining the land, farmers receive rental payments and cost-share assistance. All proposals during designated sign-up periods are evaluated on the basis of an Environmental Benefits Index (EBI) intended to rank bids in a manner that maximizes the conservation benefit per dollar of acres enrolled in the CRP. Per-acre payments are limited to the county-average rental rates adjusted for the soils and productivity type of the land offered. Although the USDA has already completed one large CRP sign-up under the new rules, and plans another in the Fall of 1997, a continuous CRP sign-up is ongoing and could be a tremendous opportunity for parts of a farm that have particular conservation challenges, particularly for buffer strips that protect water quality. As a part of its "National Conservation Buffer Initiative," the Department of Agriculture has begun aggressive promotion of the use of buffer strips in cropped fields, along field edges, and along waterways. Many of these practices are eligible for special treatment and even bonus payments under the Conservation Reserve Program and other conservation programs. Practices like contour strips, filter strips, windbreaks, grass waterways and other uses of buffers can pay big conservation dividends on a minimal commitment of land. They can help control erosion and keep soil, fertilizers and chemicals out of surface water. These practices can be an important step toward keeping a farm healthy, productive and profitable over the long haul. The Sustainable Agriculture Coalition is a partner in the Natural Resources Conservation Service's Buffer Initiative, which will call attention to the benefits of buffer strips and the ways that various conservation programs can be used to compensate farmers for establishing these practices. In particular, the Conservation Reserve Program offers bonus payments for several buffer strip practices, and makes them eligible for continuous sign-up in the program. Land that qualifies under this provision will be accepted immediately into the CRP without waiting for an official sign-up period. Farmers who are putting CRP land back into production should consider putting the most marginal land into buffer strips, instead of keeping the entire field in production. Top of Page Next: Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) Home Farm Policy Menu Making Sense of Federal Programs Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and CRP Continuous Sign-Up ©1997 Committee for Sustainable Farm Publishing Please read about our usage permission policy and disclaimer. Send comments, suggestions and questions to the site author: Craig Cramer cdcramer@clarityconnect.com Coded using HoTMetaL Pro 3.0. Best viewed in Netscape 3.0 or later. Please see our credits page for more information. http://sunsite.unc.edu/farming-connection/farmpoli/features/makesens/crp.htm