The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (2002 Farm Bill) amended the Food Security Act of 1985, to add the Grassland Reserve Program (GRP). The purpose of this program is to assist landowners and others in restoring and protecting eligible grassland and certain other lands through rental agreements and easements. This interim final rule sets forth how the Secretary of Agriculture (the Secretary), using the funds, facilities, and authorities of the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), will implement GRP to meet the statutory objectives of the program. USDA made a determination to issue an Interim Final Rule with request for comments rather than a proposed rule in order to implement the program in fiscal year 2004 pursuant to this rule. USDA believes it is critical to put into place a rule that will guide the Department in implementing the program while at the same time provide the public with notice regarding how the program will be implemented. USDA also gave consideration to the fact that GRP implementation will be modeled after other established conservation programs. USDA is using its experiences from implementing other similar programs to develop operating procedures. USDA will consider all comments received when promulgating a final GRP rule.