CRP Signup
USDA Announces Conservation Reserve Program Signup for 2023
WASHINGTON, Feb. 16, 2023 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that agricultural producers and private landowners can begin applying for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) General signup starting February 27 through April 7, 2023. CRP is a cornerstone voluntary conservation program offered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and a key tool in the Biden-Harris administration’s effort to address climate change and help agricultural communities invest in the long-term well-being of their land and natural resources.
USDA Announces CRP Special Initiative for Upland Wildlife Habitat
Lincoln, Nebraska, Dec. 12, 2022 – Nebraska USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) Executive Director John Berge is announcing the opening of applications for a special Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) initiative designed to increase habitat for upland wildlife.
The Upland Wildlife State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement (SAFE) CRP aims to create more acres for wildlife such as greater prairie chickens, northern bobwhite, plains sharp-tailed grouse, ring-neck pheasants, songbirds and pollinators. It also is designed to improve water quality and soil health and reduce soil erosion and sequester carbon.
The program signup is continuous. Contact your county FSA office and review this Fact Sheet for additional details.
Are you ready to enroll?
CRP general signup opportunities and information
General CRP helps producers and landowners establish long-term, resource-conserving plant species, such as approved grasses or trees, to control soil erosion, improve water quality and enhance wildlife habitat on cropland. There are currently 23 million acres enrolled, and FSA is aiming to reach the 27-million-acre cap statutorily set for fiscal year 2023. Read the CRP General Signup fact sheet for more information.
In 2021, the USDA introduced higher payment rates, new incentives, and a more targeted focus on the program’s role in climate change mitigation. To learn more about updates to CRP, read the “What’s New with CRP” fact sheet.
Learn the basics of CRP enrollment
If you’re looking for information on the Conservation Reserve Program and how to enroll, you’ve come to the right place. Pheasants Forever and our conservation partners are hosting in-person meetings throughout Nebraska to help people gain a better understanding of program basics such as eligibility requirements, enrollment steps, and what producers should know as they prepare for the General CRP sign-up. A panel of resource professionals will be available to answer your questions about the Conservation Reserve Program. Attendance is open to the public and no registration is required. Check out the schedule below to find a CRP information meeting near you. All meetings are Central Standard Time unless noted (*Mountain Time).
| Date | Time | Location | CRP Information Meeting Details |
| March 20 | 2:00 PM | St. Paul | St. Paul Community Library, 1301 Howard Ave |
| March 20 | 6:00 PM | Lincoln | UNL Extension Office, 444 Cherrycreek Rd |
| March 21 | 9:00 AM | Humboldt | Humboldt Ag Building, 1034 4th St |
| March 21 | 10:00 AM | Trenton | Trenton Community Center, 402 E 1st St |
| March 21 | 1:00 PM | Broken Bow | MPCC, Rm 104, 2520 South E St |
| March 21 | 1:00 PM * | Chadron | American Legion, 123 Bordeaux St |
| March 21 | 6:00 PM | Neligh | Antelope County Courthouse, 501 M St |
| March 22 | 10:00 AM | Dakota City | Old Dane Golf Club, 466 Hwy 35 |
| March 22 | 1:00 PM * | Oshkosh | Oshkosh Auditorium, 602 West 2nd |
| March 22 | 6:00 PM | Ord | Jubilee Events & Catering, 1528 L St |
| March 23 | 10:00 AM * | Benkelman | FSA Office Building, 1303 A St |
| March 23 | 1:00 PM | Norfolk | Lifelong Learning Center, 601 E Benjamin Ave |
| March 23 | 5:00 PM | Red Cloud | Red Cloud Community Center, 142 W 3rd Ave |
| March 23 | 6:00 PM * | Imperial | Imperial Fire Hall, 315 Broadway |
| March 27 | 1:00 PM | Fairbury | Jefferson Co Fairgrounds, 4-H Building, 56885 PWF Rd |
| March 27 | 1:00 PM * | Paxton | 207 North Oak St |
| March 27 | 1:00 PM * | Sidney | South Platte NRD, 551 Parkland Dr. |
| March 28 | 10:00 AM * | Grant | Midwest Electric Conference Room, 104 Washington Ave |
| March 28 | 1:00 PM | Fremont | Fremont Eagles Club, 649 N Main St |
| March 28 | 1:00 PM | Tecumseh | Tecumseh Fire Hall, 1110 Buffalo Dr |
| March 28 | 1:00 PM | Wallace | 105 West Alice St |
| March 28 | 1:00 PM* | Alliance | Alliance Knight Museum, 908 Yellowstone Ave |
| March 29 | 9:00 AM | Beatrice | Gage County Fairgrounds, 4-H Building, 900 W Scott St |
| March 30 | 6:30 PM | Arapahoe | Arapahoe Public Library, 306 Nebraska Ave |
For more information on CRP, visit fsa.usda.gov or contact your local USDA Service Center.
Download the meeting schedule flyer
CRP updates
The 2018 Farm Bill raised the CRP acreage cap from 24 million to 27 million acres by FY 2023. This includes a minimum allocation of 2 million acres for CRP Grasslands.
During a CRP general signup, land is offered into the program on a competitive basis and ranked based on environmental benefits and costs. 2.07 million acres (90% of offers) were accepted during the last CRP general signup, including 58,936 acres in Nebraska.
Environmental Benefits Index
Because CRP is competitive, not all offers will be accepted into the program. Environmental Benefits Index (EBI) factors are used to score and rank each tract of land offered for general enrollment. The following fact sheets provide an overview of EBI factors, as well as insight on how producers can maximize EBI points and increase the likelihood that an offer will be accepted.
CRP General EBI fact sheet
EBI quick hitters
Soil Rental Rates
The 2018 Farm Bill limits CRP soil rental rates general CRP and continuous CRP enrollment contracts to not more than 85% and 90% of the average county rental rate, respectively.
Nebraska Soil Rental Rates for General CRP
Nebraska Soil Rental Rates for Continuous CRP
CRP Practice Fact Sheets
CP38 Upland Wildlife SAFE
CP21 Filter Strips
CP27/28 Farmable Wetlands and Wetland Buffers
CP33 Field Borders
CP42 Pollinator Habitat
CP43 Prairie Strips
Habitat Management Fact Sheets
CRP Establishment and Management for Wildlife
CRP Management
Shrub Establishment
Smooth Brome Management
Invasive Tree Management
Patch-Burn Grazing
Contact your local USDA Service Center
Landowners and producers interested in CRP should contact their local USDA Service Center to learn more or to apply for the program.
FSA administers CRP while conservation planning assistance is provided by USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and technical service providers (TSP) including Pheasants Forever’s Farm Bill Wildlife Biologists. To submit a CRP offer, producers must contact their local FSA office. FSA will accept offers only during the enrollment period. Producers are also encouraged to consult with NRCS or Farm Bill Wildlife Biologists to discuss conservation goals and options to increase the likelihood that a CRP offer will be accepted.
To find your local USDA office contact information, click here.
Additional Resources:
USDA Expands and Renews Conservation Reserve Program in Effort to Boost Enrollment
There are currently 23 million acres enrolled, and FSA is aiming to reach the 27-million-acre cap statutorily set for fiscal year 2023. To help increase producer interest and enrollment, FSA has taken the following actions:
- Adjusting soil rental rates. This enables additional flexibility for rate adjustments, including a possible increase in rates where appropriate.
- Increasing payments for Practice Incentives from 20% to 50%. This incentive for continuous CRP practices is based on the cost of establishment and is in addition to cost share payments.
- Increasing payments for water quality practices. Rates are increasing from 10% to 20% for certain water quality benefiting practices available through the CRP continuous signup, such as grassed waterways, riparian buffers, and filter strips.
- Establishing a CRP Grassland minimum rental rate. This benefits more than 1,300 counties with rates currently below the minimum.
Contact a biologist
Pheasants Forever’s Farm Bill Wildlife Biologists work one-on-one with landowners in Nebraska to help them enroll in local, state, and federal conservation programs such as CRP. Biologists also provide technical assistance for CRP establishment, cover upgrades, and other management activities. Contact a biologist to schedule a field visit or to discuss enrollment opportunities. We also have a series of habitat management fact sheets and videos that might help answer your questions.
Need more incentives to enroll?
Landowners may qualify for incentives by working with a private lands biologist from the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. Additionally, landowners may receive up to $10 per acre in exchange for providing public hunting access on CRP. Through the Berggren Plan for Pheasants, the Commission is concentrating on improving habitat and hunter access in 8 areas of Nebraska. For more information, visit CRPsignup.com or reach out to a Nebraska Game and Parks Commission biologist by contacting an office near you.
Signup Period: Feb. 27 to April 7, 2023
Producers with eligible lands compete nationally for acceptance based on an environmental benefits index (EBI) during specified enrollment periods. Producers may submit offers below soil-specific maximum rental rates and select wildlife-enhancing vegetative covers to increase EBI ranking.
Signup period is ongoing.
Producers with eligible lands may enroll certain high priority conservation practices, such as filter strips, riparian buffers, and wetlands at any time during the year without competition. In addition to annual soil rental payment and cost-share assistance, many practices are eligible for additional annual and one-time up-front financial incentives.
Signup Period: TBA
CRP Grasslands helps landowners and operators protect grassland, including rangeland, pastureland, and certain other lands while maintaining the areas as grazing lands. No cropping history is required. A separate CRP Grasslands signup is offered each year following general signup.
Open Fields and Waters (OFW) is a voluntary program that offers financial incentives to landowners willing to allow public walk-in access for hunting, trapping, and/or fishing. Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) fields and other undisturbed grasslands are ideal for OFW. To enroll in OFW, contact your local Nebraska Game & Parks Commission office.
