Conservation Reserve Program Changes Rules to Make More Land Available

The USDA’s Conservation Reserve Program has made a major rule change to make land more readily available to the next generation of farmers.  For the least environmentally sensitive of the land’s included in the program, an early termination option will now be available for aging farm operators looking to pass on their land.  The average age of a farm operator in the United States is 58.  With many of these farmers not training a successor on their property now, succession is a growing question in the American farming community.  This new rule will ease the transition by allowing the current generation of farmers to terminate their CRP contracts early without the associated fine.  The lands eligible for early termination of the CRP contract are also given priority enrollment for CRP Grasslands, Conservation Stewardship Program or Environmental Quality Incentives Program after the land transfer is complete.  Read more on these new rules here.