Every day Earth Day for farmers

On Earth Day, and every day, the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) celebrates the strides American farmers, ranchers and foresters are making in conservation and climate-smart agriculture through FSA programs.

Since 2021, there has been a significant increase in enrollment in the Conversation Reserve Program (CRP), a critical part of USDA’s efforts to support climate-smart agriculture and forestry on working lands.  By enrolling in CRP, producers improve water quality, reduce soil erosion, and create or restore habitat for wildlife.  There are currently 23 million acres enrolled in CRP, and in 2023, USDA issued over $1.77 billion to more than 667,000 participants for their voluntary conservation efforts.  This included the 2023 enrollment of 927,000 acres in General CRP, 2.3 million acres in Grassland CRP, and 694,000 acres in Continuous CRP. 

FSA introduced improvements to CRP in 2021, such as higher rental payments and more incentivized environmental practices.  As part of these improvements, a new climate-smart practice incentive was introduced for general and continuous CRP designed to reward participants who implement conservation practices that increase carbon sequestration and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.   

In direct response to feedback from state agencies, Tribes, non-profits and other groups, FSA also implemented improvements to the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) that build capacity with CREP and reduce barriers to access and opportunity for the program.  Currently CREP has 36 projects in 27 states. In total, more than 860,000 acres are enrolled in CREP.