When was the conservation reserve program started

A drastic change was needed to restore a more favorable conservation balance. Thus, the farm bill of created the Conservation Reserve Program. The Conservation Reserve Program has always placed an emphasis on long term contracts, immediately increasing the three-year commitment to years.

Initially, the dominant focus of CRP was establishing native plants to combat soil erosion. However, it soon expanded to wildlife and wetland protection particularly with the farm bill , as well as pollinator habitat establishment.

Enrollment in CRP increased rapidly, with enrollment reaching a peak in Around this time, commodities such as corn and soybeans saw an increase in value, luring landowners away from CRP. In exchange for a yearly rental payment, farmers enrolled in the program agree to remove environmentally sensitive land from agricultural production and plant species that will improve environmental health and quality. Contracts for land enrolled in CRP are from 10 to15 years in length.

The long-term goal of the program is to re-establish valuable land cover to help improve water quality, prevent soil erosion, and reduce loss of wildlife habitat. Waterfowl experts from the United States, Canada and Mexico began working on a biological blueprint, called the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, to bring back waterfowl populations to historic levels.

The soil conservation strategy of CRP involved paying farmers to retire marginal croplands from production for 10 to 15 years. Agricultural Policy in a Changing Global Environment. Mason L. Cain, Zachary and Steven Lovejoy. Cochrane, Willard W. Ryan, American Farm Policy U. Coppess, Jonathan. Linda A. McGranahan, David A. Brown, Lisa A. Shulte, and John C. Disclaimer: We request all readers, electronic media and others follow our citation guidelines when re-posting articles from farmdoc daily.