S. 1389 — Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program Improvement Act of 2025

This section modifies the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP)—state-specific enhancements to the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), under which USDA enters matching-fund agreements with states, tribes, or others to retire environmentally sensitive cropland—by (1) excluding drought and water conservation agreements from the definition of required contract management activities; (2) authorizing additional allowable practices such as dryland agricultural uses and grazing; (3) allowing owners or operators to elect variable annual payment allocations across the agreement term; (4) establishing payment rates for drought and water conservation agreements equal to irrigated-acre rates for permanent water rights retirement or the difference between irrigated- and dryland-acre rates when dryland uses are permitted, with retroactive adjustments to prior agreements; (5) requiring (previously allowing) the Secretary to enter such agreements on specified agricultural land (including areas with continuous cropping), using conservation plans rather than best management practices; and (6) exempting CREP rental payments from statutory payment limitations.