ST. PAUL  — Gov. Mark Dayton and other officials are thanking farmers and landowners for their high rate of compliance with the state’s buffer strip law.

The 2015 legislation requires buffers of perennial vegetation to filter farm pollution before it reaches public waters. They’re a major piece of Dayton’s hopes for improving water quality statewide. With a Wednesday deadline looming, 95 percent of the 400,000 sites that need buffers now comply.

Agriculture Commissioner Dave Frederickson told reporters Monday the high compliance rate shows that farmers were committed to meeting the deadline. He said many already had buffers in place when the requirement became law, while others responded to the governor’s call to be part of the solution.

Landowners who can’t meet Wednesday’s deadline can get a waiver to push it to July 1.