(NewsDakota.com/USDA) – Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says that USDA is accepting over one million acres in this year’s Conservation Reserve Program general signup.

This is one of several signups that the Farm Service Agency is holding for the program. The results of CRP’s general signup reflect the continued importance of the program as a tool to help producers invest in the long-term health, sustainability, and profitability of their land and resources. Offers for new land in the general signup totaled about 295,000 acres nationwide. Producers submitted re-enrollment offers for about 891,000 expiring acres, reflecting the success of participating in CRP for the long term.

The total number of acres will climb when FSA accepts acres from the Grassland CRP signup that closed on May 26. Producers will still need to develop a conservation plan before contracts go into effect on October 1. The number of accepted acres will be confirmed later this year.