The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) reached its highest acreage in a decade. There are 25.86 million acres enrolled, a 26% increase since 2021.

This growth is driven mainly by Grasslands CRP, which expanded from 1.86 million acres in 2021 to over 10 million acres today. Rental rates for grasslands average $15.60 per acre. The program is designed to support grazing operations and prevent land conversion.

General enrollment has dropped to 7.7 million acres. The rental rates average $57.10 per acre. Continuous programs like CREP, nonCREP, and Wetlands CRP account for 8.35 million acres, with higher rates of $149.20 per acre.

The program’s future is uncertain as the authority to administer CRP expired on September 30 due to the delay in passing a new farm bill. Payments of $1.8 billion have already been issued. The top states for CRP payments include Iowa, Illinois and Minnesota. Colorado, Nebraska and South Dakota lead in total acreage.

Read more on CRP acreage here.