Crep program usda

At the White House Climate Leaders Summit this week, we will engage leaders from all around the world to partner with us on addressing climate change. CRP is a powerful tool when it comes to climate mitigation, and acres currently enrolled in the program mitigate more than 12 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent CO2e. If USDA reaches its goal of enrolling an additional 4 million acres into the program, it will mitigate an additional 3 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent and prevent 90 million pounds of nitrogen and 33 million tons of sediment from running into our waterways each year.

To target the program on climate change mitigation, FSA is introducing a new Climate-Smart Practice Incentive for CRP general and continuous signups that aims to increase carbon sequestration and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Climate-Smart CRP practices include establishment of trees and permanent grasses, development of wildlife habitat, and wetland restoration.

The Climate-Smart Practice Incentive is annual, and the amount is based on the benefits of each practice type. In , CRP is capped at 25 million acres, and currently Furthermore, the cap will gradually increase to 27 million acres by To help increase producer interest and enrollment, FSA is:. Under this initiative, NRCS will also initiate a soil sampling protocol to help establish a baseline for soil carbon on land enrolled in CRP.

This will enable the agency to further refine the program and practices to provide producers tools for increased climate resilience. CREP agreements are to be designed for specific geographic areas within a State or region that have been adversely impacted by agricultural activities through the use of approved conservation buffer or related practices.

CREP conservation practices must be designed to achieve substantial on-site and off-site natural resource benefits targeting 1 or more of the following goals:. To meet CREP goals, USDA provides financial, educational, and technical assistance to help producers voluntarily implement conservation practices that will enhance the environment in an economically efficient manner. Partners must typically provide 30 percent of the total project cost in the form of cash, in-kind contributions, or technical assistance.

These programs work to address a large number of farming and ranching related conservation issues including:. The Conservation Reserve Program CRP pays a yearly rental payment in exchange for farmers removing environmentally sensitive land from agricultural production and planting species that will improve environmental quality.

View the Conservation Reserve Program Page. Farm land that falls under these conservation issues is removed from production in exchange for annual rental payments. View the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program page. The Emergency Conservation Program ECP provides funding and technical assistance for farmers and ranchers to restore farmland damaged by natural disasters and for emergency water conservation measures in severe droughts.

View the Emergency Conservation Program page.