Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program Improvement Act of 2025
Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program Improvement Act of 2025
Plain Language Summary
# Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program Improvement Act of 2025 - Summary **What the Bill Does:** This bill would make changes to the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP), a government initiative that pays farmers to take environmentally sensitive land out of farming and plant conservation-friendly vegetation instead. The bill would clarify that dryland farming and grazing can be included as acceptable conservation practices under the program, and would allow farmers to adjust their annual payment amounts year-to-year rather than having a fixed payment throughout their contract period. **Who It Affects:** The bill primarily impacts farmers and landowners who participate in the conservation program, as well as states, tribal governments, and nonprofit organizations that partner with the federal government on these conservation efforts.
The changes could make the program more flexible and potentially more attractive to farmers in drier regions. **Current Status:** The bill (S 1389) was introduced by Senator Roger Marshall (R-Kansas) in the 119th Congress and is currently awaiting review in a Senate committee. It has not yet been voted on by the full Senate.
CRS Official Summary
Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program Improvement Act of 2025This bill revises the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP), which is a component of the Farm Service Agency's (FSA's) Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). CREP is a public-private partnership program which allows states, tribal governments, and nonprofit and private entities to partner with FSA to implement CRP practices. CRP is a land conservation program that provides an annual rental payment to farmers in exchange for removing environmentally sensitive land from agricultural production and planting species that will improve environmental health and quality.The bill specifies that dryland agricultural uses and grazing are included as appropriate practices under CREP.The bill also allows a land owner or operator to elect to determine the annual payment amount allocated for each year of a CREP agreement, instead of a fixed payment per year for the contract period.For drought and water conservation agreements that include the permanent retirement of water rights, annual payment rates must be equal to the irrigated acre payment rates determined by the Department of Agriculture (USDA). In the case of an agreement that permits dryland agricultural uses, the annual payment rates must be equal to the difference between the irrigated acre payment rates and the dryland acre payment rates determined by USDA. The payment formula is retroactive for certain existing drought and water conservation agreements.Further, the bill exempts CREP payments from the $50,000 annual payment limitation under CRP.
Latest Action
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.