ABERDEEN - Contracts for some Conservation Reserve Program land expire at the end of the month, but high grain prices might mean farmers will sign up fewer acres in the voluntary program, according to Doug Farrand of the Natural Resources Conservation District in Aberdeen.

The program idles about 1.4 million acres of South Dakota farm land. The state is due to lose about 296,000 acres of CRP in the next year in the current program.

Landowners can re-enroll their land or put the acres into continuous contracts, Farrand said. Enrollment is free.

CRP, administered by the Farm Service Agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, helps conserve environmentally sensitive land. Landowners and farmers are paid not to farm certain land to control soil erosion, provide wildlife habitat and improve water quality.

Although the amount that's paid was raised by about $6 an acre in June, farmers might choose to farm some former CRP land because high grain prices could mean a bigger profit, Farrand said.

"The better ground is probably more apt to be farmed," he said.

CRP enrollment is done at designated times, and farmers and landowners can bid for the rental price they want, Farrand said, and they can reject the contract if the offered price is too low.

If a continuous CRP contract is in effect, farmers and landowners can enroll acres in CRP at any time but cannot bid for the rental price, he said.

Both types of CRP contracts last at least 10 years and a maximum of 15 years.

The Farm Service Agency allots each state a certain number of CRP acres; if one state doesn't use its allotment, the rest can go to another state, Farrand said.

CRP began in 1980s. With the current federal farm bill ending, Congress could extend the current legislation or come up with a new bill - one that might not include CRP, Farrand said.

"If Congress doesn't do anything, we will quit doing CRP at the end of this year," he said.