The straight dope on CRP land...

Factual Questions
1

I was looking at some land that was on the market, and it mentioned that a certain number of acres was CRP land, which after some Googling I recognized CRP as that “paying farmers not to farm” program. But most of the pages left a lot to be desired on fully explaining the program and what it gives and limits a person to.

Perhaps due to the obvious word you can make from the acronym CRP, it seemed much of land being put into the program was poor farming land, and so the government seems to want to stop farming on the land, and providing the farmer an incentive not to farm it, so that soil quality could improve. The CRP contracts seem to last a certain number of years (10 - 15?), after which I suppose the land goes back to the farmer as something he can start growing his wheat (or whatever) on. Do I have that right?

So, how restrictive is this? Can I walk on it? Can I put cows on it to pasture? Let chickens be range-free on the land? Spray for insect control? Weed control? Plant clover or a legume to help fix nitrogen? Does a federal agent come and inspect the land to make certain I haven’t turned it into Big Bob’s Land of Asphalt? Will my neighbors rat me out if I let the dog cross it?

If there is anyone on the board who can shed some light on this program, and what I am getting into if I purchase the land, could you please enlighten me?

2

The goal of CRP is to pay land-owners a certain amount to grow naturally occurring grass and trees instead of crops, in an effort to reduce soil erosion, improve the water supply and provide wildlife habitats.

You can walk on it all you want, but I don’t know about cow pastures or chickens. I also have no idea if land can be removed from the CRP program or not.

3

There are actually several programs under the catchall title of Conservation Reserve Program, including one called “Conservation of Private Grazing Lands.”

Your general perception is pretty close to the mark. In an effort to get environmentally fragile land out of production, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will provide a certain level of support. As for details, you’d have to call the NRCS.

CRP isn’t the classic “paying farmers not to farm” boondoggle, though. Those were old Agriculture Department subsidy programs where, in order to qualify for a guaranteed crop price, the farmer had to agree to to take a percentage of land out of production. Those pretty much died out about 20 years ago.