INDIANAPOLIS – USDA is encouraging producers and landowners to enroll in the Grassland Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) through May 13, 2022. Grassland CRP provides a unique opportunity for farmers, ranchers and agricultural landowners to keep land in agricultural production and supplement their income while improving their soils and permanent grass cover. The program had its highest enrollment in history in 2021 and is part of the Biden-Harris administration’s broader effort to equip producers with the tools they need to help address climate change and invest in the long-term health of our natural resources.

Grassland CRPs a federally funded voluntary working lands program. Through the program, USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) provides annual rental payments to landowners to maintain and conserve grasslands while allowing producers to graze, hay and produce seed on that land. Maintaining the existing permanent cover provides several benefits, including reducing erosion, providing wildlife habitat and migration corridors, and capturing and maintaining carbon in the soil and cover.

“Grassland CRP is an important working lands conservation tool that offers a win-win to both our country’s producers and the environment by supporting and enabling grazing activities, while at the same time promoting plant and animal biodiversity and stemming rangeland conversion,” said Susan Houston, acting FSA state executive director in Indiana. “We had a successful signup last year, and we look forward to broadening our base and working with new producers, particularly our historically underserved producers, to ensure they can access the program and its many benefits.”

FSA provides participants with annual rental payments and cost-share assistance. The annual rental rate varies by county with a national minimum rental rate of $13 per acre for this signup. Contract duration is 10 or 15 years.

Additionally, USDA is working to broaden the scope and reach of Grassland CRP by leveraging the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) to engage historically underserved communities. CREP is a partnership program that enables states, Tribal governments, non-profit and private entities to partner with FSA to implement CRP practices and address high priority conservation and environmental objectives. 

Landowners and producers interested in Grassland CRP should contact their local USDA Service Center.  Additionally, fact sheets and other resources are available at fsa.usda.gov/crp.