The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is accepting 2.2 million acres into the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) for 2026. Through CRP, USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) offers farmers and landowners incentive payments for their conservation efforts while benefiting their agricultural operations and protecting the nation’s natural resources.  

Farmers and landowners submitted offers on nearly 2.5 million acres through the General, Grassland and Continuous CRP signups. Because the program’s total acreage is capped at 27 million acres for fiscal year 2026, only 2.2 million acres were available for enrollment, making for a highly competitive process for those who submitted offers for CRP.    

Of the nearly 1.5 million acres set to expire on Sept. 30, farmers submitted re-enrollment offers for just over 982,000 acres. Additionally, farmers submitted offers to enroll 1.5 million acres of new land.    

Nebraska, Colorado, and South Dakota hold the top three slots for accepted acres for all 2026 CRP enrollment opportunities.