What is a CRP field???? I hear this all the time when watching hunting shows especially in the midwest. I am from Western, Ny 25 miles northeast of Niagara Falls.(Newfane) I don't ever remember anyone around here use this term.

It is a field that has been enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program. The government pays the farmer so much an acre to plant grasses and cover crops to reduce erosion. And the deer love to use it as cover and bedding areas.

WE have 60 acres in CRP and the government pays use not to plant anything on it we cannot even plant food plots. But it has native grasses and other things deer love all we are allowed to do is bush hog it twice a year

I had a buddy out in Montana that had a farm with the maximum allowable CRP. As he liked to say...he got paid to watch the grass grow. I think erosion control and wildlife habitat are more secondary to minimizing crop harvests and keeping grain prices from plummeting...but that's just my opinion.

My CRP fields are planted with trees. Oaks, pines, etc.I had the planter sneek 300 persimmon trees in them. I planted about 25,000 trees and the government pays me $3K per year for 15 years. You can't do anything to the ground but mow it.

On our Family's CRP field/farm we are allowed to plant food plots and the Conservation Agency gives out different types of seeds to plant for the Turkeys and Quails.They also show you how to keep up the field edges and grasses to help with Quails and other Wildlife.Like most have stated you have to keep the ground mowed every year or so and you can't sell any grasses for hay.We have several acres in thick woods around the CRP fields and the deer love bedding in the tall grass and the turkeys and racoons use the thick blackberry briars for food and cover.

Thanks all, I appreciate the responses and I guess thats what screwed me up, they all looked physically different so I didn't know why they where all labeled CRP Makes perfect sense now

The CRP field where I hunt used to provide some absolutely amazing bedding cover, and I had some monsters using it and cutting a corner to come to the corn... These days, the guy brushhogs it right around October every year now... Screws up my hunting just perfectly. [:@]

CRP is also not to be confused with Mitigation Land. Mitigation is land that companies pay a
landowner to plant in trees to offset some sort of wetland use. Like Wal-Mart for a store location
would be required to purchase 25 acres of mitigation. We have both. You have to watch it
or they will plant a ton of ash. You can get them to put in a wildlife blend which helps.
Last year the idiots planted in the summer and no big surprise they are going to have to replant.[:@]
Also, even though it is done by the government, I think only one person on the crew spoke English.[8D]

Anyway, I think you are allowed to put firelanes of about 30' feet around it, but you aren't supposed
to go in their chopping it up. Like Greg/Mo said, it's good for bedding, especially when young.

In MN it is the Crop Reduction Program. It is the way a farmer get a check from the government without planting anything and getting paid for it. I sure wish they paid me for not working, oh thats right they are willing to but it is called welfare![:@]