Acceptance of land for CRP is lower than usual

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has computed what land qualifies to enter the Conservation Reserve Program in the latest round of signups, with only four Montana counties reaching their legal cap.

After the applications from ag producers were ranked nationally, far less land in the Havre area was accepted for CRP than in past signups.

FSA Hill County director Mike Zook said Tuesday that Hill County didn't reach its limit because of the low acceptance of bids. That happened even though local producers offered nearly twice as much land as could be enrolled.

"We didn't reach our cap, which was...