CONTACT: Sara Kangas, NACD Director of Communications
(202) 547-6223; sara-kangas@nacdnet.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 21, 2021

NACD APPLAUDS CRP ENHANCEMENTS

WASHINGTON – Today, the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) applauded the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)'s changes to the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP).

Secretary Tom Vilsack announced several changes to the program to incentivize participation, including adjusting rental rates and introducing a variety of incentive payments, including a climate incentive payment.

“NACD applauds the announcement today that USDA is adjusting rental rates and incentive payments for CRP,” NACD President Michael Crowder said. “Inadequate compensation for landowners has led to low enrollment in the program in the past year. These increased rental rates and incentives are critical to ensuring farmers are appropriately compensated for participating in CRP. With these incentives in place, we hope to see full enrollment in the program.”

Secretary Vilsack also announced that Safe Acres for Wildlife Enhancement (SAFE) enrollment will move back to continuous enrollment, giving landowners the chance to enroll these acres anytime throughout the year and increasing the incentives offered to acres enrolled in SAFE.

NACD wrote a letter to the incoming Biden Administration in November emphasizing the need for these changes. NACD supported increasing the enrollment cap on CRP in the 2018 Farm Bill and supported incentives for idling our nation’s most environmental sensitive lands.

“CRP is an important tool in the conservation toolbox, supporting landowners who wish to voluntarily remove land with the highest conservation value from production,” Crowder said. “Today’s announcement will strengthen CRP and yield real benefits for water quality, soil health and wildlife habitat.”