The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is a multi-year, multi-objective program of the 1985 Food Security Act scheduled to retire 40 million acres of highly erodible cropland by 1990. The Secretary of Agriculture has considerable discretion in implementing the program. This report analyzes the effects of various eligibility, pooling, and bid . selection criteria on the performance of the Conservation Reserve. The program can be implemented to favor erosion reduction, supply control, or budget reduction to varying degrees. Furthermore, the operation and performance of the CRP are closely linked with other conservation and commodity program provisions of the 1985 Food Security Act
