CRP — Conservation Reserve Program (annual rent on your own land)

What this actually is

Not a grant, not a loan, not cost-share — a RENTAL PAYMENT. You take environmentally sensitive acreage out of production, plant resource-conserving cover, and FSA pays you annually for the contract term, plus cost-share to establish the cover. Continuous, General, Grassland and CREP signups run on separate calendars; the Grassland signup is usually the widest door.

Who qualifies, and what trips people up

Offers go to your local FSA office. Re-enrollment of expiring continuous acreage is first-come, first-served; new continuous acreage is first-come, first-served subject to available acres and USDA conservation priorities (filter strips, grass waterways, native ecosystem restoration). FSA cannot guarantee acceptance of a continuous offer. Related: CREP, Farmable Wetlands, CRP Grasslands, the Transition Incentives Program.