Good practice

USDA Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)

United States of America · Washington, D.C. · See the United States of America profile

USDA programme paying farmers to convert highly erodible cropland to permanent vegetative cover. 24.8 million acres (~10 Mha) enrolled; $1.8 billion in annual payments; documented soil erosion reduction, improved water quality and enhanced wildlife habitat across the continental

24.8M acres (~10M ha)

Terres inscrites

$1.8bn /yr

Paiements annuels

Details

Maturity: Established
Promoter: USDA Farm Service Agency
Period: 1985-present
Keywords: Grassland, cropland, wetland, carbon, soil, water, wildlife

Context

Le Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) de l'USDA paie les agriculteurs pour convertir des terres agricoles très érodables en couvert végétal permanent dans l'ensemble des États-Unis continentaux.

Results

Environ 24,8 millions d'acres (~10 millions d'ha) sont inscrits, pour environ 1,8 milliard de dollars de paiements annuels, avec des réductions documentées de l'érosion des sols, une meilleure qualité de l'eau et un habitat faunique renforcé.

Implementation

Implementation detail (cost, timeline, staffing, conditions for success) is not yet available for this practice.

Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

C-NAPSE web research — accessed 2026-06-20
USDA Farm Service Agency — accessed 2026-06-20
USDA FSA – CRP programme page — accessed 2026-06-20
US GAO – CRP environmental benefits review (2024) — accessed 2026-06-20
National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition – CRP overview — accessed 2026-06-20

Quality score: 67/100

How is this calculated?

Evidence: Observational / pre–post

Top 8% in this catalogue (335 scored practices)

Scores cluster high, so position within the catalogue is often more telling than the number alone.

Evaluation

Evaluated by C-NAPSE

Score profile — the dimensions behind the score — how it's computed

Carbon — sequestration / storage, evidenced1/3

Permanent grasses and trees sequester carbon in vegetation and soil, with a Climate-Smart Practice Incentive explicitly rewarding carbon-sequestering cover, but programme-level CO2 tonnage is not the primary purpose or routinely published.

Biodiversity — conservation / improvement, evidenced2/3

Wildlife habitat is a statutory CRP goal; enrolled acres support grassland birds, pollinators and upland game, though species-level population data are not centralised in programme reporting.

Water & soil — retention, infiltration, erosion control3/3

Primary purpose: soil erosion control and water quality improvement through filter strips, riparian buffers and grass waterways on 9.3 Mha of previously cultivated land, routinely monitored by USDA.

Fire resilience — risk reduction, evidenced1/3

USDA states that permanent vegetative cover builds wildfire resilience particularly on Great Plains grasslands, but fire-risk reduction is not separately measured in programme metrics.

Governance, certification & transferability3/3

Statutory federal programme under successive Farm Bills since 1985; FSA administers mandatory on-site verification, annual payments audited at US Treasury level; 40-year track record with continuous congressional reauthorisation.

Cite this

Evidoria. USDA Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). Persistent ID: 25c0fc02-8286-43e6-9b06-54cd9a04d5ae.

Export as decision brief (PDF)

Similar practices you may find useful

★ 67

China Sloping Land Conversion Programme (Grain for Green / SLCP)

China

World's largest PES programme: China's Grain for Green converted 34.3M ha of sloped farmland to forest and grassland since 1999, …

★ 87

Bhutan for Life — Project Finance for Permanence (Bhutan)

Bhutan

Asia's first 'Project Finance for Permanence' secures 1.1 M ha of protected Himalayan forest in Bhutan via a USD 118 …

★ 73

West Arnhem Land Fire Abatement (WALFA)

Australia

Aboriginal-owned carbon project in western Arnhem Land: Traditional Owners apply strategic early dry-season burning over 28,000 km2 to reduce late-season …

★ 67

Portugal Ecosystem Services Remuneration Programme — Serra do Açor & Tejo Internacional

Portugal

Portugal's national PES pilot (Resolução 121/2019): Fundo Ambiental pays 14 landowners €3.7M over 20 years to conserve 27,674 ha — …