An additional 2.2 million acres were enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), bringing the total enrollment “very near” the 27-million-acre cap.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the latest enrollment this week in the Grassland, General and Continuous CRP.

“The popularity of our suite of Conservation Reserve Programs, including the significant success of Grassland Conservation Reserve Program and the fact that we are nearing the Conservation Reserve Program acreage cap, is a testament to the commitments made by the farmers, ranchers and landowners we serve to mitigate the impacts of climate change by conserving, protecting and enhancing our natural resources,” said Zach Ducheneaux, administrator of USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA). “It’s through all FSA’s conservation programs that we are able to work directly with agricultural producers to implement climate-smart conservation practices that ultimately benefit everyone.”

Grassland CRP
FSA accepted 1.44 million acres in the Grassland CRP signup in 2024, bringing total acres enrolled in this program to 10 million.

Farmers and ranchers with acreage enrolled under the grassland signup can still graze and cut hay from the land. The payment rate, however, is lower than for the general and continuous signups.

General and Continuous CRP
Nearly 200,000 acres were accepted in the General CRP signup this year. That brings the total enrollment to 7.9 million acres.

More than 565,000 acres have been enrolled under the Continuous CRP signup so far this year. Enrollment can continue throughout the year. About 8.5 million acres are currently enrolled under the continuous signup, according to USDA.