Federal Programs

Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)

The Conservation Reserve Program reduces soil erosion, protects the Nation’s ability to produce food and fiber, reduces sedimentation in streams and lakes, improves water quality, establishes wildlife habitat, and enhances forest and wetland resources. It encourages farmers to convert highly erodible cropland or other environmentally sensitive acreage to vegetative cover, such as tame or native grasses, wildlife plantings, trees, filterstrips, or riparian buffers. Farmers receive an annual rental payment for the term of the multi-year contract. Cost sharing is provided to establish the vegetative cover practices.

Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP)

The Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program is a joint program between the state of Illinois and the USDA to address environmental problems within the Illinois River watershed. The goals of the program are to reduce sedimentation and nutrients in the Illinois River and increase populations of waterfowl and native fish and mussels. The program provides additional incentives for farmers to enroll environmentally sensitive land in the Conservation Reserve program (CRP). The only eliglible land for CREP in Coles County is gonig to be land within the 100 year floodplain of the Kaskaskia River.

Land must meet eligibility requirements as either Highly Erodible Land or Riparian Buffer. Land eligible as Highly Erodible Land must be adjacent to a stream and may be devoted to permanent native grasses, tree planting, or permanent wildlife habitat. Land eligible as frequently flooded land, farmed wetlands, and prior converted wetlands may be devoted to shallow water areas for wildlife, wildlife food plots, filter strips, riparian buffers, or wetland restoration. Most of the area to be enrolled will be limited to the land within the 100 year floodplain and associated buffer zone.

Participants in the Illinois CREP program will receive a 30% increase above the annual per acre rental rate for enrollment of riparian buffers, filter strips, and wetland restoration or a 20% increase for erodible areas. The Federal Government will pay 50% of the cost of establishing the new vegetative cover and provide $5 an acre for annual maintenance costs.

In addition, landowners who wish to extend their CREP contracts beyond the 15 year federal contract will be offered additional incentives by the State Government. Participants will be offered 15 year, 35 year, or permanent easement options. Those opting for a permanent easement will receive reimbursement of the remaining 50% of costs to establish vegetative practices and a lump sum payment equal to the CRP maximum annual payment times 15 times 30% per acre. Landowners choosing 15 or 35 year easements will receive reimbursement of 40% of the remaining costs to establish practices and 50% or 75% respectively of the lump sum payment for the permanent easement. In addition, those installing filter strips may be eligible for a reduction in property taxes.

The landowners must agree to keep the conservation practices in place for the duration of the easement. There will be no development allowed on the property. The easement does not allow for the right of public access to the property and the landowner retains rights to use the property for undeveloped recreational uses, including hunting and fishing.

Commonly asked questions about the CREP Program

Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP)

The Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) encourages agricultural and forestry producers to maintain existing conservation activities and adopt additional ones on their operations. CSP is a new voluntary conservation program that provides financial and technical assistance to conserve and enhance soil, water, air, and related natural resources on their land. CSP provides opportunities to both recognize excellent stewards and deliver valuable new conservation.

Benefits

CSP provides participants with two possible types of payments. An annual payment is available for installing new conservation activities and maintaining existing activities. A supplemental payment may be earned by participants receiving an annual payment who also adopt a resource-conserving crop rotation. Through 5-year contracts, payments will be made as soon as practical after October of each year for contract activities installed and maintained in the previous year. For all contracts, CSP payments to a person or legal entity may not exceed $40,000 in any year, and $200,000 over the term of the initial contract period.

How CSP Works

NRCS at the State level, in consultation with the State Technical Committee and local working groups, will focus CSP on natural resources that are of specific concern for a State. Agricultural land and non-industrial private forest land will be ranked separately. Producers interested in CSP are encouraged to begin the application process by completing a producer self-screening checklist. The self-screening checklist helps potential applicants decide for themselves whether CSP is the right program for them. The level of environmental benefit to be achieved will be estimated to determine eligibility, rank applications and establish payments. For a pre-approved applicant, NRCS will request the applicant’s conservation activity records and conduct on-site field verification to ensure that information provided by the applicant was accurate prior to contract approval. Once information is verified, NRCS and the applicant proceed to develop the contract.

Basic Eligibility

CSP is available on Tribal and private agricultural lands, as well as nonindustrial private forest lands in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the Caribbean and Pacific Islands Areas. The program provides equitable access to all producers, regardless of operation size, crops produced or geographic location.

Individual producers, legal entities, corporations, and Indian Tribes may be eligible for the program. Eligible lands include cropland, grassland, prairie land, improved pastureland, rangeland, nonindustrial private forest land, and agricultural land under the jurisdiction of an Indian tribe. Applicants must:

• Be the operator of record in the USDA farm records management system for the eligible land being offered for enrollment;
• Have documented control of the land for the term of the proposed contract;
• Include the eligible land in their entire operation as represented for other USDA programs;
• Be in compliance with highly erodible land and wetland conservation provisions of 7 CFR Part 12, and adjusted gross income provisions of 7 CFR part 1400.

For more information and updates about the Farm Bill, visit www.usda.gov/farmbill or NRCS’ website: www.nrcs.usda.gov/farmbill. For more information on CSP, visit www.nrcs.usda.gov/new_csp.

Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)

The Environmental Quality Incentives Program provides technical, educational, and financial assistance to eligible farmers and ranchers to address soil, water, and related natural resource concerns on their lands in an environmentally beneficial and cost-effective manner. The program provides assistance to farmers and ranchers in complying with Federal, State, and tribal environmental laws, and encourages environmental enhancement. The program is funded through the Commodity Credit Corporation. The purposes of the program are achieved through the implementation of a conservation plan which includes structural, vegetative, and land management practices on eligible land. Five- to ten-year contracts are made with eligible producers. Cost-share payments may be made to implement one or more eligible structural or vegetative practices, such as animal waste management facilities, terraces, filter strips, tree planting, and permanent wildlife habitat. Incentive payments can be made to implement one or more land management practices, such as nutrient management, pest management, and grazing land management. Fifty percent of the funding available for the program will be targeted at natural resource concerns relating to livestock production. The program is carried-out primarily in priority areas that may be watersheds, regions, or multi-state areas, and for significant statewide natural resource concerns that are outside of geographic priority areas.

Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP)

The Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program provides financial incentives to develop habitat for fish and wildlife on private lands. Participants agree to implement a wildlife habitat development plan and USDA agrees to provide cost-share assistance for the initial implementation of wildlife habitat development practices. USDA and program participants enter into a cost-share agreement for wildlife habitat development. This agreement generally lasts a minimum of 10 years from the date that the contract is signed.