When USDA stops paying rent, idled land usually goes back into crops

A Reagan-era creation, the Conservation Reserve is the largest U.S. land retirement program, paying landowners an annual rent if they idle environmentally fragile cropland for 10-15 years. But when the contracts expire, most of the land goes back into crop production, says a USDA report that examines the budgetary and land stewardship implications of land… » Read More