Funding is now available for farmers and ranchers to conserve working grasslands, rangeland and pastureland while maintaining the areas as livestock grazing lands, USDA said Wednesday.

Related: USDA opens Conservation Reserve Program to 800,000 more acres

Beginning Sept. 1, farmers and ranchers can apply for the funding under the Conservation Reserve Program. The enrolled land will improve water quality, prevent soil erosion and reduce loss of wildlife habitat, USDA says.

USDA Secretary Vilsack says Conservation Reserve Program money is available for working lands

"A record 400 million acres and 600,000 producers and landowners are currently enrolled in USDA's conservation programs," USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a press statement. "The Conservation Reserve Program has been one of the most successful conservation programs in the history of the country, and we are pleased to begin these grasslands incentives as we celebrate the program's 30th year."

CRP has helped farmers and ranchers prevent more than 8 billion tons of soil from eroding, reduce nitrogen and phosphorous runoff relative to cropland by 95 and 85% respectively, and even sequester 43 million tons of greenhouse gases annually, equal to taking 8 million cars off the road, USDA said.

The CRP-Grasslands initiative will provide participants who establish long-term, resource-conserving covers with annual rental payments up to 75% of the grazing value of the land. Cost-share assistance also is available for up to 50% of the covers and other practices, such as cross fencing to support rotational grazing or improving pasture cover to benefit pollinators or other wildlife.

Participants may still conduct common grazing practices, produce hay, mow, or harvest for seed production, conduct fire rehabilitation, and construct firebreaks and fences.

Related: Conservation can be profitable, too

With the publication of the CRP regulation today, the Farm Service Agency will accept applications on an ongoing basis beginning Sept. 1, 2015, with those applications scored against published ranking criteria, and approved based on the competiveness of the offer.

The ranking period will occur at least once per year and be announced at least 30 days prior to its start. The end of the first ranking period will be Nov. 20, 2015.

Later this week, USDA will also announce state-by-state allotments for the State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement. Through SAFE, also a CRP initiative, up to 400,000 acres of additional agricultural land across 37 states will be eligible for wildlife habitat restoration funding.

The additional acres are part of an earlier CRP wildlife habitat announcement made by Secretary Vilsack. Currently, more than 1 million acres, representing 98 projects, are enrolled in SAFE.

Learn more about the USDA CRP and CRP working lands program online.