The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced that agricultural producers and private landowners can enroll in the Grassland Conservation Reserve Program (Grassland CRP) starting May 4 through May 29.
USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) administers Grassland CRP, a voluntary working lands conservation program that enables participants to conserve grasslands while also continuing most grazing and haying practices.
Grassland Conservation Reserve Program emphasizes support for grazing operations, plant and animal biodiversity, and grasslands and land with shrubs and forbs under the greatest threat of conversion.
The Program is the USDA’s flagship conservation program, providing financial and technical support to agricultural producers and landowners who place unproductive or marginal cropland under contract for 10-15 years and who agree to voluntarily convert the land to beneficial vegetative cover to improve water quality, prevent soil erosion and support wildlife habitat.
The Continuing Appropriations, Agriculture, Legislative Branch, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Extensions Act, 2026, extends Farm Services Agency authority to administer CRP through September 30, 2026.
Currently, more than 26.2 million acres are enrolled in the program, with nearly 10.3 million acres in the Grassland reserve program.
FSA recently closed the enrollment period for General CRP and Continuous CRP enrollment closes May 1 for 2026. FSA is reviewing submitted offers and will announce accepted offers at a later date.
Due to the 27-million-acre statutory cap, only 1.9 million acres are available for all conservation program enrollments this fiscal year.
Producers and landowners interested in participating in Conservation Reserve Program should contact their local Farm Services Agency county office before the May 29 deadline.
In the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia, the Farm Services Agency office is located at 151 Aikens Center in Martinsburg and can be contacted by phone at (304) 263-7547 or by email at [email protected].
In Washington County, Md. the Farm Services Agency office is located at 1260 Maryland Avenue in Hagerstown and can be contacted by phone at (301) 797-0500 or by email at [email protected].
