General Sign-Up – Administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency with technical guidance from the Natural Resources Conservation Service, CRP is a statewide voluntary conservation program that helps agricultural producers conserve environmentally sensitive land. Under the CRP General Sign-Up, participants can set aside whole fields of cropland and convert them to native grasses and wildflowers, among other options. Participants will receive a sign-up incentive payment per acre, cost-share for establishing the practice, and an annual rental payment on the land taken out of production. This program requires a long-term commitment as contracts last ten or fifteen years, but is the most financially lucrative to landowners willing to commit to habitat conservation well into the future. Generally, this program opens up for sign-up only once or twice a year, usually in the spring or summer, and timeliness is required for the application process. For more information, contact your local Farm Service Agency office or Private Lands Biologist.