Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program
About CREP
Maryland’s Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) is a federal state partnership program that pays landowners to take environmentally sensitive cropland out of production for 10 to 15 years and install conservation practices that protect water quality and provide wildlife habitat.
Farmers can receive attractive annual rental payments by establishing buffers along streams, managing highly erodible land, or maintaining wetlands that are taken out of production. This involves planting and caring for grasses, shrubs, trees, or wetlands for the entire duration of the contract.
Benefits
This completely voluntary program offers:
- A one-time signing bonus of up to $1,000 an acre (through 2031) for NEW ENROLLMENTS of riparian forest buffers.
- Attractive annual rental and incentive payments.
- Cost-share assistance to install streamside buffers, watering systems, livestock fencing, and more.
- Landowners have the option of selling a permanent easement on their land to the State of Maryland's Department of Natural Resources.
Eligibility
Farmers can plant forested streamside buffers, grassed streamside buffers or conservation cover. They may also install grassland or forest practices to protect highly erodible land, promote certain wildlife species or establish wetlands to safeguard local streams.
How to sign up for CREP
Interested farmers should contact their soil conservation district or county Farm Service Agency to sign up for the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program.
Re-enrolling in CREP
CREP offers easy re-enrollment of existing practices at attractive land rental rates. In addition to the steady income that CREP provides, you may qualify for a state $100 per acre sign-up bonus that is payable soon after the contract is signed. In this brochure you can find answers to frequently asked questions about re-enrolling in CREP. Starting the re-enrollment process is easy. Simply call or stop by your local soil conservation district or county Farm Service Agency.
Frequently asked questions
CREP FAQs
Yes. Existing practices for expired CREP contracts must be re-enrolled before the contract expires. If the deadline is missed, the site may be enrolled as a new contract under current eligibility requirements, but only if the practice is needed and feasible. Contracts with existing planted to trees must be re-enrolled before the contract date expires because those contracts will not meet the “able to be cropped” requirement once the current contract expires. Re-enrolled contracts are eligible for Maryland’s $100 per acre sign-up bonus.
The same parcel of land may not be enrolled in CREP and CRP at the same time; however, CRP participants with expiring contracts may enroll in a new CREP contract at attractive rates and qualify for $200 per acre in federal and state sign-up bonuses if all eligibility requirements are met.
CRP practices that qualify for CREP must be next to a stream or waterway or located on highly erodible land that is within 1,000 feet of a stream. Cropland may be eligible if it was planted to an agricultural commodity, can meet cropping history requirements, and is still physically and legally capable of being planted. Marginal pastureland next to a stream may also be eligible for certain practices.
Yes. You may change the current conservation practice, but only if it results in a higher environmental benefit as determined by the Farm Service Agency (FSA) or the soil conservation district.
You may re-enroll the entire acreage previously under contract.
No. Each strip must be re-enrolled separately. When you re-enroll additional strips, you can request a shorter contract length so that all re-enrolled contracts expire at the same time.
You may choose not to re-enroll the first stacked buffer when the contract expires, but you will be required to maintain the entire buffer until the other contract(s) expires. Otherwise, you would be out of compliance with CREP because the outer stacked buffer would not meet the practice requirements.