Grassland Conservation Reserve Program
Program Information:
Match Requirement: No Match Required
Sub Funding Type: Other, Implementation or On-The-Ground Work
Funding Type: Other
Funding Source: Federal
Organization Name: US Farm Service Agency
Eligible Applicants: Private Individual
Unlike general CRP, Grassland CRP is not a land retirement or fallowing program. In exchange for maintaining grasslands and wildlife habitat, the Farm Service Agency (FSA) pays producers annual rental payments and cost-share assistance while allowing livestock production activities to continue. Ranchers can continue to graze, seed, and hay land enrolled in the program. The program provides ranchers with yearly acre-rental payments, capped at $50,000 per entity, for sustaining wildlife habitat on grasslands while allowing livestock production activities to continue. In return, landowners must follow a Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) management plan. The management plan may stipulate forage requirements, grazing regimes, and times for haying.
The FSA also provides cost-share assistance for practices and enhancements such as fencing, water developments, and planting and seeding. The minimum rental rate is $13/acre, but land located within Grassland CRP National Priority Zones receives an additional $5 per acre. Rental rates are based on 75 percent of the cash rent data provided by the National Agricultural Statistics Service. The FSA has rental rates posted on its website.
Landowners and producers interested in Grassland CRP, or any other CRP enrollment option, should contact their local USDA Service Center to learn more or to apply for the program before the deadlines.