Ag Policy Blog

In a narrow window of opportunity for landowners, USDA has opened enrollment to accept offers for both General and Continuous signup under the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP).

In a news release, USDA opened up enrollment for CRP through June 6.

USDA under the Biden administration boosted CRP acreage by 4.4 million acres to hit roughly 25.9 million acres – though about 950,000 acres have expiring contracts this year. The bulk of those new acres came through the Grassland CRP, which is not part of the current enrollment.

USDA officials noted overall sign up for new enrollment is limited because of the farm bill cap of 27 million acres.

"With 1.8 million acres available for all CRP enrollment this fiscal year, we are very aware that we are bumping up against the statutory 27-million-acre statutory cap," said FSA Administrator Bill Beam. "Now more than ever, it's important that the acres offered by landowners and those approved by USDA address our most critical natural resource concerns. With the limited number of acres that we have available, we're not necessarily looking for the most acres offered but instead prioritizing mindful conservation efforts to ensure we maximize the return on our investment from both a conservation and economic perspective."

General CRP

General CRP makes up nearly 7.8 million acres with the average rental payment at $57.27 nationally, though payments range widely from state to state. Average payment rates in Wyoming, for instance, are $26.31 an acre while the highest average rental payment is $173.20 an acre in Iowa.

Applications received for General CRP are ranked and scored in a competitive process. USDA will announce accepted offers once all of the scoring is completed. Along with annual rental payments, producers could be eligible for cost-share assistance to establish vegetation cover.

Continuous CRP

Total Continuous CRP acreage comes in at 8.4 million acres. Rental payments are higher, averaging $150.27 an acre nationally.

The lowest average rental rate is $24.72 an acre in California while the highest average rental rate is $268.02 an acre in Maryland.

Acres under Continuous CRP don't have to go through a competitive ranking and scoring process. FSA accepts Continuous CRP enrollment on a first-come, first-served basis through June 6. However, if more allotted acres are available, that enrollment could run through July 31.

Continuous CRP protects sensitive areas such as wetlands, riparian buffers and wildlife habitat areas, though the tracts enrolled in Continuous CRP are typically smaller than those in General CRP. There are also multiple initiatives and incentive programs tied to Continuous CRP.

Grassland CRP

Grassland CRP now constitutes 9.7 million acres, more than ten times the acreage from five years ago, which was 917,000 acres. Grassland CRP allows landowners to protect certain areas while supporting grazing operations.

The average rental payment nationally is $15.74 an acre.

Nevada has the lowest average Grassland CRP rental rate at $10.12 an acre. The highest average rate is $39.15 in Iowa.

While not being offered right now, FSA stated there will be dates for Grassland CRP enrollment in the near future.

STATES WITH LARGEST OVERALL CRP ENROLLMENTS

Colorado, 2.967 million acres

South Dakota, 2.633 million acres

Nebraska, 2.415 million acres

Texas, 2.209 million acres

Kansas, 2.039 million acres

Iowa, 1.673 million acres

New Mexico, 1.210 million acres

North Dakota, 1.198 million acres

Landowners interested in CRP should apply through FSA at their local USDA Service Center.

For more details, go to https://www.fsa.usda.gov/…

Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com

(c) Copyright 2025 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.