(NAFB) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture is announcing some changes to help halt the declining land enrollment numbers in the Conservation Reserve Program.

The agency set a goal of enrolling up to four million new acres in CRP and is taking several steps to give producers more incentive to enroll their eligible land. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack talked about the agency’s goal of expanding CRP.

He says CRP rental rates are going up.

USDA will also make more funding available to help establish conservation projects.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service will also be making funding available to help further promote rural conservation efforts.

More information on the changes is available on the USDA’s Farm Service Agency website at www.fsa.usda.gov.