The program was first authorized in the Food Security Act of 1985 (1985 farm bill, P.L. While a number of natural resource improvements are attributed to the program, the program contains a number of controversial elements as well, including the economic and environmental effect of permitted activities, such as haying and grazing on CRP acres and the reduction of enrolled acres due to high crop prices and farm bill reauthorization. Program and funding authority for CRP was reauthorized and extended through FY2018 by the Agricultural Act of 2014 (2014 farm bill, P.L. How CRP Works

The program is administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA) at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), with technical support from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and other USDA agencies. There are two main types of enrollment into CRP: general sign-up and continuous sign-up. A general sign-up is not scheduled for FY2014. Continuous sign-up includes a number of initiatives that target acres with specific resource concerns or support additional conservation practices. Land

For land to be eligible for CRP, USDA may consider the following land types for enrollment: 
highly erodible cropland that (1) if untreated could substantially reduce the land's future agricultural production capability or (2) cannot be farmed in accordance with a conservation plan; and has a cropping history or was considered to be planted for four of the six years preceding February 7, 2014 (except for land previously enrolled in CRP); marginal pasture land devoted to appropriate vegetation for water quality purposes; grasslands that (1) contain forbs or shrubland on which grazing is the predominant use; (2) are located in an area historically dominated by grasslands; and (3) could provide habitat for ecologically significant animal and plant populations if restored or retained in its current condition. Current Issues

		Farm Bill Reauthorization

The 2014 farm bill reauthorized CRP and reduced the enrollment cap from 32 million acres to 24 million acres by FY2018. A number of programmatic changes centered around permitted activities. Emergency harvesting, grazing, and other use of forage are permitted, in some cases, without a reduction in rental rate, as well as livestock grazing for a beginning farmer or rancher. Other approved activities, such as annual or routine grazing, may continue to require a reduction in rental rate (discussed further in the " Harvesting and Grazing " section below). The Grassland Reserve Program (GRP) was repealed in the 2014 farm bill. Grassland contracts, similar to what was repealed under GRP, are now eligible under CRP. The 2014 farm bill also allows CRP participants the opportunity to terminate their contract early if the land has been enrolled longer than five years and it does not contain environmentally sensitive practices. 113-79) . Increases in Enrollment

Despite the potential limiting factors affecting CRP enrollment, the number of acres enrolled under continuous sign-ups, including for the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP, see Appendix A ), has increased. As of July 2014, almost 5.8 million acres (23%) were enrolled through continuous sign-up, an increase of 2.2 million acres since 2007. The additional financial incentive under continuous sign-up could offset the potential gap between CRP rental payments and local rental rates to enroll more environmentally sensitive acres. Environmental Benefits

The greatest concern over a reduced level of CRP acres is a reduced level of environmental benefits. Projects are designed to address specific environmental objectives through targeted CRP enrollments.
The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) provides payments to agricultural producers to take highly erodible and environmentally sensitive land out of production and install resource conserving practices for 10 or more years. CRP was first authorized in the Food Security Act of 1985 (P.L. 99-198, 1985 farm bill) and is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Farm Service Agency (FSA) with technical support from other USDA agencies. Participants offer land for enrollment through two types of sign-up: general and continuous. General sign-ups are competitive and only open during select times. Continuous sign-ups are not competitive, always open for enrollment, and offer additional financial incentives to those who qualify. Continuous sign-ups are targeted to specific environmental and resource concerns and operate through a number of initiatives. The largest and most well-known is the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP), which partners with states to address agricultural-related environmental concerns in specific geographic regions. While the majority of current acres enrolled were under general sign-ups (19.7 million acres), an increasing number are enrolled under continuous sign-ups (5.8 million acres).
The Agricultural Act of 2014 (2014 farm bill, P.L. 113-79) reauthorized CRP and reduced the enrollment cap from 32 million acres to 24 million acres by FY2018. The 2014 farm bill made several changes centered on permitted activities. Emergency harvesting, grazing, and other use of forage are permitted, in some cases, without a reduction in rental rate, as well as livestock grazing for a beginning farmer or rancher. Other approved activities, such as annual or routine grazing, may continue to require a reduction in rental rate. The Grassland Reserve Program (GRP) was repealed in the 2014 farm bill. Grassland contracts, similar to what was repealed under GRP, are now eligible under CRP. The 2014 farm bill also allows CRP participants the opportunity to terminate their contract early if the land has been enrolled longer than five years and it does not contain environmentally sensitive practices.
A number of factors have impacted CRP enrollment recently, mainly high commodity crop prices. These strong prices have encouraged farmers to put CRP acres, even marginal acres, back into production. This pressure could potentially reduce the number of CRP acres offered for reenrollment once they have expired or cause existing current CRP participants to seek an early release from their CRP contract. Some participants also have cited a potentially low CRP rental rate compared to the market rental rate as a reason for decreased enrollment interest. Despite these factors, enrollment has increased under continuous sign-ups and demand for the program, in general, still exceeds the current enrollment level.
CRP has contributed to a number of environmental benefits including reduced soil erosion, improved water quality through wetlands and field buffers, reduced fertilizer use, and increased wildlife habitat. The recent expiration of a number of acres from the program, and a reduced reenrollment, has some concerned that a number of the environmental benefits gained under CRP could be lost or reduced if land is returned to production.