	CRP General Background

The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is the federal government's largest land retirement program for private land. The program is administered by USDA's Farm Services Agency (FSA), with technical assistance from USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and funding from USDA's Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC). This was the first general sign-up since 2006. Over half the acreage enrolled was set to expire on September 30, 2010. A new general sign-up (number 41) was announced for March 14, 2011, through April 15, 2011. Approximately 84% of CRP acreage (26.2 million of 31.2 million acres) is currently enrolled through general sign-ups. For general sign-up number 39, nearly 4.8 million acres were offered by farmers for sign-up, of which 4 million were finally enrolled. For the previous general sign-up (number 33), which ran from March 27 to April 28, 2006, USDA selected 1 million acres of the 1.4 million acres offered. The 2008 continuous sign-up (number 36) added 282,000 acres, the continuous sign-up for FY2009 (number 37) added 277,556 acres as of July 2009, and the FY2010 sign-up (number 38) has enrolled 607,000 acres as of March 2011. These sign-ups bring the total acreage under continuous sign-up contracts to over 5 million acres as of March 2011, 16% of the total 31.2 million CRP acres. Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP)

CREP is a joint federal-state continuous sign-up program. The 2008 farm bill expanded land eligibility for the FWP from land that was cropped during at least 3 of the immediately preceding 10 crop years, as well as contiguous buffer acreage to protect the wetlands, to include:
land on which constructed wetland is to be developed that will receive flow from a row-crop agriculture drainage system and is designed to provide nitrogen removal in addition to other wetland functions; land devoted to commercial pond-raised aquaculture in any year during calendar years 2002-2007; intermittently flooded land, provided the land had a cropping history in three years between 1990 and 2002 and was subject to natural overflow of prairie wetland; and buffer acreage that enhances wildlife benefits. 110-246 ) reauthorized the CRP with a maximum acreage cap of 32 million acres, down from a cap of 39.2 million acres established in the 2002 farm bill ( P.L. The 2008 farm bill also modified the criteria for evaluating CRP contract applications. FSA published the draft supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) in February 2010. The final SEIS was available for public comment for a 30-day period beginning June 18, 2010, and ending July 19, 2010. A second rule was published September 28, 2010, implementing other CRP provisions of the farm bill. A final rule has not been published, but is expected in mid-2011. Following a review of the comments by FSA, a record of decision (ROD) for the CRP SEIS will be issued. On May 14, 2010, an interim rule was published in the Federal Register to implement the Transition Incentives Program. The rule essentially amends the CRP contract regulations to provide that retired or retiring farm owners and operators have permission to amend their contract if it is due to expire within one year to facilitate the transition of the land enrolled in the expiring CRP contract to a beginning or socially disadvantaged farmer or rancher. Expiring CRP Contracts and Reenrollment and Extension Policy

Approximately 28 million acres under CRP contract expired between 2007 and 2010. Contracts covering 5.9 million acres were set to expire in FY2008, and 3.9 million more acres were set to expire at the end of FY2009. An additional 4.4 million acres also expired September 30, 2010. For contracts expiring September 30, 2010, about 75% of the 4.4 million acres has been reenrolled or had contracts extended. FSA estimates approximately $1.85 billion in projected outlays for CRP payments under all programs in FY2011. This is about the same as for FY2010. This projected total includes funding for rental payments, cost-share payments, and incentive payments. Rental Rates for CRP Acreage

The average rental rate for all CRP land was slightly over $55 per acre as of March 2011.
The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), enacted in the 1985 farm bill, provides payments to farmers to take highly erodible or environmentally sensitive cropland out of production for 10 years or more. It is the federal government's largest private land retirement program. The program is administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), with technical assistance provided by USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service. The CRP also has several subprograms, the best-known of which is the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP).
The 2008 farm bill (P.L. 110-246) reauthorized CRP through FY2012, but reduced the maximum acreage level to 32 million acres, down from the previous cap of 39.2 million acres. Criteria for haying and grazing on CRP land were amended, and incentives were authorized to assist socially disadvantaged and beginning farmers in leasing or purchasing land under a CRP contract. A draft supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) on the 2008 farm bill changes to CRP was completed in February 2010. On May 14, 2010, an interim rule was published in the Federal Register to implement the Transition Incentives Program. On September 27, 2010, another interim rule was published implementing other provisions of the 2008 farm bill. The final SEIS was available for public comment for a 30-day period beginning June 18, 2010. A final rule is expected by mid-year 2011. Following a review of the comments by FSA, a record of decision (ROD) for the CRP SEIS will be issued.
The national enrollment as of March 2011 stood at 31.2 million acres. Approximately 4 million acres of farmland was added through a general sign-up (number 39) in summer 2010, nearly 57% of which was acreage under contracts set to expire September 30, 2010. This was the first general sign-up since 2006. Approximately 84% of total CRP acreage is currently enrolled under general sign-ups. A new general sign-up (number 41) began March 14, 2011, and ended April 15, 2011. There was also a continuous enrollment sign-up during late spring and summer 2009 (number 37) that added 488,000 acres to CRP totals. Continuous sign-up 38 began in October 2009 and will continue to October 2011. That sign-up has added 607,454 acres as of March 2011. Continuous sign-up 40 for FY2011 added 30,690 acres in March 2011 and now totals 120,295 acres. Total continuous sign-up acreage is over 5 million acres as of March 2011.
For FY2011, total CRP rental outlays are estimated at $1.85 billion, approximately the same as for FY2010. This projected total includes funding for rental payments, cost-share payments, and incentive payments. The average per-acre rental payment for general sign-ups is currently $45.87, and the average rental rate for CREP is nearly $129.93 per acre. The average rental payment for all CRP programs is $55.09 per acre.
Between 2007 and 2010, 27.8 million acres under CRP contracts expired. Contracts for approximately 24 million (86%) of these acres have been renewed or extended. On September 30, 2009, contracts on approximately 3.9 million acres were set to expire. USDA announced a sign-up for contract extensions that ran from May 18 to June 30, 2009. Of the expiring 3.9 million acres, however, only about 1.5 million were offered extension contracts. About 55% of the eligible expiring acreage was in four states: Colorado, Kansas, Montana, and Texas. As of December 2009, participants holding contracts on 1.1 million acres originally set to expire September 30, 2009, had accepted extension offers (73%). Contracts on an additional 4.4 million acres expired September 30, 2010. Approximately 75% of that expiring acreage has been reenrolled or had its contracts extended. On September 2011, 4.4 million acres will expire.