Conservation

Passing land on to the next generation of farmers and ranchers can be critical to the success of an operation. As the average age of landowners and operators continues to rise, transition planning becomes increasingly important. One mechanism to assist with this transfer is the Conservation Reserve Program-Transition Incentives Program (CRP-TIP).

What is CRP-TIP? Administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency, CRP-TIP assists landowners with expiring CRP contracts by incentivizing land transfer to an underserved or beginning farmer who will return the land to sustainable agricultural production. Land is enrolled in CRP with conservation benefits such as wildlife habitat, soil health, and water quality—in mind. CRP-TIP emphasizes the continuation of conservation through sustainable grazing practices and farming methods by the new operator. In the last two years of a CRP contract, the landowner will establish an approved conservation plan. The new operator will commit to conservation and land improvements according to the plan.

The landowner must agree to sell, have a contract to sell, or agree to long-term lease (at least five years) the land enrolled in an expiring CRP contract to the new operator. The incentive for participating in CRP-TIP is two additional years of CRP rental payments after the contract expires.