In the latest acreage accepted for the Conservation Reserve Program, Minnesota had 2,966 acres accepted under the general sign-up, according to the state Farm Service Agency office.

An additional 10 acres were accepted in Minnesota in the CRP-Grassland program.

Minnesota has 1,131,788 acres total acres currently enrolled in both general and continuous CRP.

Nearly 3,000 CRP acres accepted in Minnesota in latest enrollment

USDA recently announced the enrollment of more than 800,000 acres in CRP. According to agency officials, this was one of the most selective sign-up periods in CRP’s 30-year history, with a record high Environmental Benefits Index cut-off and the lowest-percentage of applications accepted. The high bar means that the per-acre conservation benefits are being maximized and that acres enrolled address multiple conservation priorities simultaneously.

A nationwide acreage limit was established for this program in the 2014 Farm Bill, capping the total number of acres that may be enrolled at 24 million for fiscal years 2017 and 2018. At the same time, USDA has experienced a record demand from farmers and ranchers interested in participating in the voluntary program. As of March 2016, 23.8 million acres were enrolled in CRP, with 1.7 million acres set to expire this fall.

More than three million acres were offered for enrollment this year across the three main categories within CRP with FSA receiving over 26,000 offers to enroll more than 1.8 million acres during the general enrollment period.

Coming off a record-setting 2015 continuous enrollment of over 860,000 acres, more than 364,000 acres already have been accepted for 2016 in the CRP continuous enrollment, triple the pace of last year.

FSA continues to accept CRP Grasslands offers and will conduct another ranking period later this year. Acres are ranked according to current and future use, new and underserved producer involvement, maximum grassland preservation, vegetative cover, pollinator habitat and various other environmental factors.

To learn more about FSA’s conservation programs, visit www.fsa.usda.gov/conservation or contact your local FSA county office.

To find your local FSA county office, visit http://offices.usda.gov