Nebraska CRP Acres at Record Level

Just over 1.5 million acres of Nebraska crop ground were enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) as of late October, a record number going back to 1990 (Figure 1). The CRP is a voluntary program which pays farmers who enroll to set aside environmentally sensitive crop acres for 10-15 years. Figure 2 maps the acres enrolled in the program nationwide. For Nebraska, CRP acres are most dense in the eastern one-third of the state, southern border counties, and Panhandle. Only a smattering of acres is located in the central and Sandhills regions. The USDA Farm Service Agency reports CRP payments totaled $79.5 million this year.

Figure 1. Acres Enrolled in CRP—Nebraska (1,000 Acres)

Figure 2. CRP Enrollment, October 2021