FINAL CONSERVATION RESERVE PROGRAM RULES
                                                               
                                            Release No. 0046.97
                                                               
                                   Jim Petterson (202) 720-4623
                                   Marlyn Aycock (202) 720-5237
                                   Dave White    (202) 720-3210

CLINTON ADMINISTRATION ANNOUNCES FINAL CONSERVATION RESERVE PROGRAM RULES

     WASHINGTON, Feb. 12, 1997--Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman today
announced final regulations for USDA's Conservation Reserve Program (CRP),
fulfilling a Clinton Administration commitment to redesign the program to
target the most environmentally sensitive croplands.

     "Under the new CRP, we will protect about 36 million acres of our most
environmentally sensitive lands," Glickman said.  "The days of enrolling
vast amounts of productive farmland are over.   We will select the acreage
to enter the program after reviewing each of the offers submitted from the
pool of eligible land.  We will enroll only the most environmentally
sensitive lands to ensure that we get the most environmental benefits using
the fewest dollars possible.

     "Unfortunately, there have been some erroneous reports that imply we
were about to enroll all the cropland in America into the CRP.  We are not. 
There are a couple of basic things we need to remember to keep this debate
in focus.  One, we are limited to enrolling 36.4 million acres.  We could
not enroll all the cropland if we wanted to.  And two, there is a
fundamental difference between land that is eligible for the CRP and land
that gets into the CRP."

     The three primary goals of the CRP are erosion reduction, improvement
of water quality and the enhancement of wildlife habitat.  There are
millions of acres of cropland that could provide outstanding water quality
or wildlife benefits, yet would not be eligible for enrollment based solely
on their erodibility.

     "We firmly believe that changes made in the final rule, which have
increased the size of the pool of eligible acres, make it more possible to
achieve the three primary goals of the CRP by enrolling the country's most
environmentally important cropland," Glickman said.

     USDA will rank all eligible CRP offers using an Environmental Benefits
Index (EBI).  The EBI is used to evaluate and rank offers based on the
potential environmental benefits of enrolling the land in the CRP.  This
will ensure that only the most environmentally sensitive lands are selected. 
The criteria used to determine the EBI rankings include benefits to wildlife
habitat, erosion control, water quality, air quality and cost.  USDA's goal
is to enroll those acres into the program where the benefits to the nation
from land retirement outweigh the benefits of keeping the land in
agricultural production.

     The CRP is an effective, voluntary approach to improving the nation's
natural resource base.  Landowners enter into contracts with USDA to place
erodible and other environmentally sensitive cropland in long-term
conservation practices for 10-15 years.  In exchange, landowners receive
annual rental payments for the land and cost-share assistance for
establishing those practices. 

     Today, some 32.9 million acres are enrolled in the CRP.  The program
protects millions of acres of American topsoil from erosion, and, by
reducing water runoff and sedimentation, it protects groundwater and helps
improve countless lakes, rivers, ponds and streams.  All of these acres are
planted to vegetative cover or other forms of wildlife habitat.  As a
result, the CRP is a major contributor to significant increases in wildlife
populations in many parts of the country.

     In order to ensure that only the most environmentally sensitive
croplands are enrolled in the program, the final rule defines eligible
cropland as land that has been planted or considered planted to an
agricultural commodity two of the five most recent crop years and must be
capable of being planted to an agricultural commodity.  Also, the final rule
makes marginal pasture land eligible if it is either currently enrolled in
the Water Bank Program or will be devoted to a riparian buffer to be planted
to trees.  

     Eligible cropland must also meet one of the following criteria to be
offered for enrollment in the CRP:

    Have an Erosion Index (EI) of 8 or higher or be considered highly
     erodible land according to the conservation compliance provisions;
     (Redefined fields must have an EI of 8 or higher)

    Be considered a cropped wetland;

    Be devoted to any of a number of highly beneficial environmental
     practices, such as filter strips, riparian buffers, grass waterways,
     shelter belts, wellhead protection areas, and other similar practices;

    Be subject to scour erosion;

    Be located in a national or state CRP conservation priority area; or

    Be cropland associated with or surrounding non-cropped wetlands
     
     "We made the erosion eligibility threshold for CRP consistent with the
definition of highly erodible land for the conservation compliance program,"
Glickman said.  "If land is sensitive enough to be regulated, it should be
sensitive enough to be eligible for enrollment in the CRP.  Farmers should
not get mixed signals."

     Four national conservation priority areas have been designated:
Chesapeake 
Bay, Long Island Sound, Great Lakes, and the Prairie Pothole Region.
Conservation priority area designations are based on a judgment that
retiring agricultural lands in these specific areas offers the potential for
significant improvement of water quality or wildlife habitat.  In addition,
Farm Service Agency State committees, with advice from State Technical
Committees and local individuals and organizations, may recommend that up to
10 percent of cropland within a state be designated as state conservation
priority areas.

     Over the course of the CRP, Congress has directed that rental rates
not exceed local market values.  CRP payments will be determined based on
county average dryland cash or cash rent equivalent rental rates adjusted
for site-specific, soil-based productivity factors. CRP payments can include
an additional amount, not to exceed $5 per acre per year, as an incentive to
perform certain maintenance obligations.  Cost-share assistance will be
provided to establish cover on land for enrollment in the CRP. 

     The 1997 agriculture appropriations act effectively precluded the
extension of any CRP contracts.  Producers with contracts expiring September
30, 1997 may offer their acreage for re-enrollment during the next sign-up
period if the land meets the basic eligibility criteria.  

     In addition to land eligible for enrollment under the continuous CRP
sign-up provisions, eligible landowners will be able to sign up for the CRP
beginning March 3, 1997, through March 28, 1997, at their local USDA Farm
Service Agency office.  The final CRP rule will be filed for public
inspection and become effective today.

                                #

NOTE: USDA news releases and media advisories are available on the Internet.
Access the USDA Home Page on the World Wide Web at http://www.usda.gov