OMAHA (DTN) -- Total acreage enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is now the highest level in a decade as the program evolves and focuses more on grazing acres than at any time in its history.

Checks for CRP should have been issued over the first two weeks of October at roughly $1.8 billion total in payments.

CRP acreage under the Biden administration has grown 5.36 million acres since early 2021 to hit 25.86 million acres, a 26% increase in enrollment. The Farm Service Agency is getting close to its 27-million-acre cap from the 2018 farm bill.

This year's enrollment programs added 199,214 acres in the general signup -- the traditional program -- while the Grasslands CRP contracts added another 1.44 million acres.

Rolling back the number just a bit, landowners had 481,092 acres of contracts expire Sept. 30, 2024, and leave the program.

Right now, other than issue payments, USDA is essentially freezing CRP in place because the authority to administer CRP expired Sept. 30 when Congress did not extend the farm bill. So FSA can't accept new continuous acres or make any changes or revisions to CRP contracts. All of that will have to wait until Congress reauthorizes a new farm bill or extends the current one.

2024 ACREAGE AND RENTAL RATES

The Biden administration also has continued a shift in how landowners enroll in the program. General enrollment only accounts for 7.7 million acres -- down 5.4 million acres since early 2021 -- with an average national rental rate of $57.10 per acre.

The continuous enrollment programs -- CREP, non-CREP and Wetlands -- now make up 8.35 million acres averaging $149.20 an acre.

Grasslands CRP is driving more acreage in the overall program despite lower rental rates than other forms of CRP. Grasslands CRP as of August was reported at 8.59 million acres. With another 1.44 million acres added, Grasslands CRP now tops 10 million acres. The average rental rate is $15.60 per acre.

The Grasslands program is meant to help support grazing operations and keep those acres from conversion to other uses. When the Biden administration came into office in January 2021, Grasslands CRP only accounted for 1.86 million acres.

SHIFT FROM 2014 ACREAGE AND RENTAL RATES

While acreage is now just above the 2014 enrollment of 25.45 million acres, the contracts have changed. A decade ago, the lion's share of CRP acres -- 19.7 million acres at the time -- was locked in the general signup idling ground. The average general rental rate was $51.09 per acre in 2014. Another 5.7 million acres back then were in continuous programs such as the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP), as well as "non-CREP" with an average rental rate of $106.79 per acre. The Grasslands program, which now plays a significant role, wasn't actually part of CRP in 2014.

Top Five States for CRP Overall Payments:

--Iowa, $403 million

--Illinois, $173.54 million

--Minnesota, $154.9 million

--South Dakota, $137.47 million

--Missouri, $98.66 million

Top Five States for Total CRP Acreage (as of August):

--Colorado, 2.78 million acres

--South Dakota, 2.39 million acres

--Texas, 2.157 million acres

--Nebraska, 2.2 million acres

--Kansas, 1.95 million acres

Top Five States for Average CRP Rental Rates (as of August):

--Maryland, $252.08 per acre

--Iowa, $240.57 per acre

--Ohio, $228.98 per acre

--Illinois, $219.29 per acre

--Indiana, $214.27 per acre

Five States with the Lowest Average CRP Rental Rates (as of August):

--Nevada, $10.12 per acre

--Arizona, $12.35 per acre

--Wyoming, $15.58 per acre

--New Mexico, $18.06 per acre

--Hawaii, $18.02 per acre

Five States With Most New 2024 Acres in General CRP:

--Montana, 33,372

--Washington, 24,306

--Colorado, 24,157

--Nebraska, 237,853

--Texas, 24,117

--Idaho, 20,410

Five States With Most New 2024 Acres in Grassland CRP:

--Nebraska, 237,853

--Colorado, 218,145

--New Mexico, 185,619

--South Dakota, 158,843

--Wyoming, 139,783

Five States With Most Expired Acres on Oct. 1, 2024:

--Iowa, 74,275

--South Dakota, 55.503

--Minnesota, 42,391

--North Dakota, 37,609

--Illinois, 34,148

More CRP data can be found at https://www.fsa.usda.gov/…

Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com

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