An additional reminder is during nesting season you cannot run your dogs on public WMAs from April 16 to July 14th (See MN Hunting Regulations).
USDA to Open General and Continuous Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) Enrollment for 2025
Are there areas of your fields that are environmentally sensitive or provide issues? These areas you may want to consider enrolling in CRP which could help both the condition of the land and your farm profitability. Land that is not currently enrolled in CRP or expiring CRP may be offered for enrollment during Continuous CRP signup period. The first batching period ended on June 6, 2025, but continue to submit offers for Continuous CRP for potential future batching periods through July 31, 2025.
General CRP
Agricultural producers and landowners submit offers for General CRP through a competitive bid process. Offers are ranked and scored, by FSA, using nationally established environmental benefits criteria. USDA will announce accepted offers once ranking and scoring for all offers is completed. In addition to annual rental payments, approved General CRP participants may also be eligible for cost-share assistance to establish long-term, resource-conserving vegetative cover.
Continuous CRP
Unlike General CRP, Continuous CRP offers are not subject to a competitive bid process. To ensure enrolled acres do not exceed the current statutory cap of 27 million acres, FSA is accepting Continuous CRP offers on a first-come, first-served basis through June 6. However, should allotted CRP acreage remain available following the June 6 deadline, FSA will accept continuous CRP offers from interested landowners through July 31, 2025, and may be subsequently considered for acceptance, in batches, if it’s determined that the offered acres support USDA’s conservation priorities.
Continuous CRP participants voluntarily offer environmentally sensitive lands, typically smaller parcels than offered through General CRP including wetlands, riparian buffers, and varying wildlife habitats. In return, they receive annual rental payments and cost-share assistance to establish long-term, resource-conserving vegetative cover.
Continuous CRP enrollment options:
- State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement Initiative: Restores vital habitat in order to meet high-priority state wildlife conservation goals.
- Highly Erodible Land Initiative: Producers and landowners can enroll in CRP to establish long-term cover on highly erodible cropland that has a weighted erodibility index greater than or equal to 20.
- Clean Lakes, Estuaries and Rivers (CLEAR) Initiative: Prioritizes water quality practices on the land that, if enrolled, will help reduce sediment loadings, nutrient loadings, and harmful algal blooms. The vegetative covers also contribute to increased wildlife populations.
- CLEAR30 (a component of the CLEAR Initiative): Offers additional incentives for water quality practice adoption and can be accessed in 30-year contracts.
- Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP): Addresses high priority conservation objectives of states and Tribal governments on agricultural lands in specific geographic areas.
Grassland and Expiring CRP Acres
FSA will announce dates for Grassland CRP signup in the near future.
Additionally, landowners with acres enrolled in CRP set to expire Sept. 30, 2025, can offer acres for re-enrollment beginning today. A producer can offer to enroll new acres into CRP and offer to re-enroll any acres expiring Sept. 30, 2025.
For more information on CRP participant and land eligibility, approved conservation practices and detailed program fact sheets, visit FSA’s office or reach out to Reva – Brown County Pheasants Forever Land Biologist.
