Land Use Impacts of the Conservation Reserve Program: An Analysis of Rejected CRP Offers

The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is the largest agricultural land retirement program in the United States, with the General Signup competitive auction accounting for about one-half of enrolled acreage. In this study, we assess the land use impacts of the CRP, identifying the land uses that could have been retired had rejected offers in the 2016 General Signup instead been accepted. We also compare information from proposed offers with land use decisions after offers were rejected to determine the costs that the program would have to pay to avoid these land uses. In the immediate years after the Signup that we examine, 47 percent of acreage in fields with a rejected offer was planted in crops for grain, while 14 percent was planted in crops for forage, and 10 percent was used for grazing. We find that the fraction of land in each use is relatively consistent across a range of Environmental Benefits Index (EBI) scores. Further, we find that the cost effectiveness of retiring grain and other productive agricultural uses is relatively constant across a large range of EBI scores but is lower for the lowest scoring offers. Finally, we find that program land use impacts vary significantly across states and depend on prior enrollment status.