The Department of Agriculture announced this week it will temporarily suspend accepting most new offers under the Conservation Reserve Program until later in the 2018 fiscal year. National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson says CRP is an important program for farmers, especially those going through a depressed ag economy. He says government officials really had no choice but to suspend it.

He doesn’t think USDA will be able to fund all the acres they have entered into the program.

Johnson says there has been thought given to increasing the CRP cap in the next farm bill but if they do it probably won’t be a large increase.

The CRP suspension will continue until later in the 2018 fiscal year.