Eligible Persons
To be eligible for CRP enrollment, a producer must have owned or operated the land for at least 12 months prior to close of the CRP sign-up period, unless:

* The new owner acquired the land due to the previous owner's death;

* The ownership change occurred due to foreclosure where the owner exercised a timely right or redemption in accordance with state law; or

* The circumstances of the acquisition present adequate assurance to FSA that the new owner did not require the land for the purpose of placing it in CRP.


Eligible Land
To be eligible for placement in CRP, land must be either:

* Cropland (including field margins) that is planted or considered planted to an agricultural commodity 4 of the previous 6 crop years from 2002 to 2007, and which is physically and legally capable of being planted in a normal manner to an agricultural commodity; or

* Certain marginal pastureland that is suitable for use as a riparian buffer or for similar water quality purposes.

Additional Cropland Requirements
In addition to the eligible land requirements, cropland must meet one of the following criteria:

* Have a weighted average erosion index of 8 or higher;

* Be expiring CRP acreage; or

* Be located in a national or state CRP conservation priority area.


CRP Payments
FSA provides CRP participants with annual rental payments, including certain incentive payments, and cost-share assistance:

* Rental Payments - In return for establishing long-term, resource-conserving covers, FSA provides annual rental payments to participants. FSA bases rental rates on the relative productivity of the soils within each county and the average dry land cash rent or cash-rent equivalent. The maximum CRP rental rate for each offer is calculated in advance of enrollment. Producers may offer land at that rate or offer a lower rental rate to increase the likelihood that their offer will be accepted.

* Maintenance Incentive Payments - For certain continuous signup practices, CRP annual rental payments may include an additional amount up to $5 per acre per year as an incentive to perform certain maintenance obligations.

* Cost-share Assistance - FSA provides cost-share assistance to participants who establish approved cover on eligible cropland. The cost-share assistance can be an amount not more than 50 percent of the participants' costs in establishing approved practices.

* Other Incentives - FSA may offer additional financial incentives of up to 20 percent of the annual payment for certain continuous sign-up practices.


Ranking CRP Offers
Offers for CRP contracts are ranked according to the Environmental Benefits Index (EBI). FSA collects data for each of the EBI factors based on the relative environmental benefits for the land offered. Each eligible offer is ranked in comparison to all other offers and selections made from that ranking. FSA uses the following EBI factors to assess the environmental benefits for the land offered:

* Wildlife habitat benefits resulting from covers on contract acreage;

* Water quality benefits from reduced erosion, runoff, and leaching;

* On-farm benefits from reduced erosion;

* Benefits that will likely endure beyond the contract period;

* Air quality benefits from reduced wind erosion; and

* Cost.