The Conservation Reserve Program was created in the 1985 Farm Bill with the goals of reducing erosion, managing commodity surplus, and creating wildlife habitat through the retirement of agricultural land from production. This study investigates the motivations for Rice County farmers’ participation in the Conservation Reserve Program and compares them to legislative intent for the program, as well as exploring the values that are important for motivating farmers’ practices of conservation. We collected data from interviews with farmers and congressional hearings between 2001 and 2008. Our results showed significant overlap between congressional and farmer values, despite a disconnect in practice, as many farmers mentioned the inability of the federal government to implement effective and timely policies. This disconnect has had the effect on farmers of pushing them towards individual conservation action, using the CRP in a wide variety of ways to address specific conservation issues on their land. Authors: Kadin Woolever and Willa Gruver