What is the Transition Incentives Program (TIP)?
The Transition Incentives Program (TIP) offers assistance for landowners and operators, as well as opportunities for beginning veteran and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers. It provides landowners or operators with two additional annual rental payments on land enrolled in expiring Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contracts, on the condition they sell or rent this land to a beginning veteran or socially disadvantaged farmer or rancher. Up to two additional annual CRP payments can be obtained through TIP. New landowners or renters must return the land to production using sustainable grazing or farming methods.
CRP TIP Cooperative Agreement Notice of Funding Opportunity - Zoom (zoomgov.com)
NEWS: USDA is investing almost $1.8 million in cooperative agreements with six partner organizations for outreach and technical assistance to promote awareness and understanding of the Conservation Reserve Program-Transition Incentive Program (CRP-TIP) among agricultural communities. USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) offers CRP-TIP as an important tool to help beginning, veteran and socially disadvantaged farmers access land, as well as keep agricultural lands in production. These partnerships build on other efforts by USDA to increase equity in program delivery and broaden the reach of its programs to underserved producers. Read more in the February 8, 2024, news release.
Why is TIP important?
TIP provides landowners and operators with an incentive to return land to production on an expiring CRP Contract in a way that preserves established conservation practices. It also provides an opportunity for beginning, veteran and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers to purchase their own land or rent land.
For more information on enrolling in TIP, please scroll down to the Participant Information section or download the TIP fact sheet.
Participant Information
How do I enroll in TIP?
Only land enrolled in an expiring CRP contract is eligible. TIP enrollment is on a continuous basis and may occur up to one year before a contract is set to expire. To qualify for TIP, the landowner or operator must either sell this land, or lease it on a long-term basis (at least five years), to a beginning veteran or socially disadvantaged farmer or rancher.
Is TIP land eligible for any FSA conservation programs?
New owners and operators may also be eligible to enroll in the Conservation Stewardship Program or Environmental Quality Incentives Program, both initiatives of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).
For further information about the program, including CRP contract expiration rules, rental payment information, maintenance criteria, and land requirements, visit your local FSA office.
Definitions
Here you'll find definitions related to qualifying for TIP.
- Beginning farmer or rancher: a person or entity who has not been a farm or ranch operator for more than 10 years.
- Veteran farmer or rancher means a person, or for entities has at least 50 percent interest in that entity, who served in the Armed Forces and who has obtained status as a veteran during the most recent 10-year period, or operated a farm or ranch for no more than 10 years.
- Socially disadvantaged farmer or rancher: a farmer or rancher who is a member of a group whose members have historically been subjected to racial or ethnic prejudice because of their identity as a member of that group. For this program, gender is not included.