Since 2007, enrollment in the long-term Conservation Reserve is down by 9.9 million acres; in fact, the 26.8 million acres in the reserve in 2013 was the smallest amount since 1988, writes economist David Widmar at the blog Agricultural Economic Insights. Widmar says “the release of nearly 10 million acres of farmland into production will likely keep pressure on commodity prices moving forward. Furthermore, the drivers of this trend may continue into the future, further pressuring commodity prices.” High commodity prices since 2006 lured land out of the reserve.
The 2014 farm law sets the maximum enrollment in the reserve to 26 million acres this fiscal year, 25 million acres in fiscal 2016 and 24 million acres from fiscal 2017.