Opportunities to Expand Conservation Reserve Acres Coming Soon

WASHINGTON, DC – The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) recently analyzed one of the largest federally administered private land retirement programs, USDA’s Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). Under CRP, farmers and landowners voluntarily remove environmentally sensitive land from agricultural production to conserve soil, water and wildlife resources, in exchange for annual rental payments. Annual outlays under the program total almost $2 billion per year. The 2018 farm bill made several changes to CRP including expanding the acreage cap to 27 million acres by 2023. According to USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), as of September 2020, 21.9 million acres were enrolled with annual rental payments totaling just under $1.8 billion. Over the past year, the program has lost 400,000 enrolled acres and total rental payments have declined by $20 million. Despite the reduction in acres, the average rental rate in 2020 increased marginally to $82 per acre. Enrollment is highest in the Texas Panhandle, portions of western Kansas, eastern Colorado, Iowa, North and South Dakotas and into Washington, accounting for nearly 12 million acres. The top 10 states, which also include Nebraska, Montana and Minnesota, represent nearly 70 percent of all CRP acreage. Nationally, average county-level rental rates range from $10 per acre in the Southwest to nearly $300 per acre in the Corn Belt. Over the next three years, CRP contracts representing more than 12 million acres will expire.
(SOURCE: All Ag News)