Federal Carbon Resources
Learn more about the programs available to all farmers across the United States
Click a program to learn more about the
- Qualifying Requirements
- Incentives
- Implementation responsibilities
Click here for a cross program comparison table (pdf)
Please contact your local NRCS and/or FSA office for more information on these programs
Programs | Description of Programs |
---|---|
Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) | CRP is a federal program that takes land out of production and provides financial assistance to producers to implement relevant practices. Some carbon programs exclude CRP lands from carbon crediting. |
Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) | National initiatives offering a cost share program run that aims to assist producers in solving major resource concerns on their land. |
Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) | Financial assistance to implement practices beyond their major resource concerns (e.g. manure or nutrient loss requiring a manure storage facility). These practices are “enhancements” on the land, for farms that have already implemented some conservation measures. |
Biomass Crop Assistance Program | Incentives to establish, cultivate, and harvest biomass for heat, power, bio-based products, advanced biofuels and research through a cost share program. |
Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) | Cost-share from eligible entities to eligible landowners with the goal of preserving farmland. |
Regional Conservation Partnership Program | Promotes the implementation of conservation agreements between partners and producers. The Federal RCPP program provides templates for the projects to state NRCS offices, which lead the implementation of conservation agreements and monitoring. |
Conservation Stewardship Program Grasslands Conservation Initiative | Provides financial assistance for grasslands conservation through five-year non-renewable contracts. Eligible land must have been maintained through the Agricultural Risk Coverage/Price Loss Coverage program and managed through a grassland conservation plan. |
Agriculture Management Assistance (AMA) | Cost share for water quality improvement to increase carbon sequestration. Available to farmers in 16 states where participation in the Federal Crop Insurance Program is historically low. The 16 states are CT, DE, HI, ME, MD, MA, NV,NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, UT, VT, WV and WY. |
Conservation Technical Assistance | Provides technical assistance to promote activities that will increase carbon sequestration. |
Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program (FRPP) | Cost share to prevent the development of farmland to encourage continual carbon sequestration |