NEW CONSERVATION RESERVE PROGRAM GOING STRONG Release No. 0086.97 Jim Petterson (202) 720-4623 Dann Stuart (202) 690-0474 GLICKMAN SAYS SIGN-UP FOR NEW CONSERVATION RESERVE PROGRAM GOING STRONG WASHINGTON, March 18, 1997 -- Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman today announced that at the halfway point of the first sign-up under the new, environmentally-focused Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), more than 13.5 million acres of land had been offered for enrollment in the program. "These numbers are very gratifying," Glickman said. "They demonstrate that farmers and ranchers are embracing the new CRP and are eager to continue the strong conservation ethic of American agriculture. These impressive, early numbers also are indicative of the efficiency and dedication of the USDA field staff implementing the CRP." The new, environmentally-focused CRP will provide immediate benefits to producers, ranchers and taxpayers through reduced soil erosion, improved water quality and expanded wildlife habitat. Under this voluntary program, landowners enter into contracts with USDA to place erodible and other environmentally-sensitive cropland in conservation practices for 10-15 years. In exchange, landowners receive annual rental payments for the land and cost-share assistance for establishing those practices. "USDA field employees are working hard to inform producers about this important opportunity and are accepting offers to enroll land in every state," Glickman said. According to reports from USDA field offices, land owners in the Northwest region lead the way in offering acreage for inclusion in the program. According to the field reports, in the first two weeks of CRP sign-up, over 162,000 landowners offered approximately 13.5 million acres for enrollment nationwide. Of the total acres, about 10.4 million represented acres currently enrolled under CRP contracts due to expire in September. Approximately 3.1 million acres are new and were offered for the first time. "I want to encourage all landowners to consider enrolling their eligible environmentally-sensive land in this program," Glickman said. "The sign-up closes on March 28th, and landowners can enroll at any time lands with high environmental value under the CRP's continuous sign-up provision." Glickman said all land that is enrolled in the program must compete for acceptance based on an environmental benefits index that ensures fair and equal consideration for all types of land. Sign-up for the program began March 3 and will continue through March 28. Producers will be notified by mid-June as to which acres have been accepted into the CRP. Montana had the largest number of acres offered so far with 1,496,743, followed by Texas with 1,426,123, and North Dakota with 1,286,491. Individual signup statistics by state follow: (1) State (2) Number of applications received. (3) Total acres offered for enrollment. (4) Acres offered currently enrolled in CRP. (5) Acres offered not currently enrolled in CRP. (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) AK 9 4,951.30 4,951.30 0 AL 4,482 266,680.60 232,611.40 34,069.20 AR 1,017 209,379.20 201,450.00 7,929.20 AZ 0 0 0 0 CA 75 9,674.00 9,184.10 489.90 CO 6,779 701,951.60 597,880.30 104,071.30 CT 0 0 0 0 DE 8 113.6 61.70 51.90 FL 731 35,666.80 30,423.20 5,243.60 GA 3,793 179,082.40 146,129.10 32,953.30 HI 0 0 0 0 IA 16,936 697,829.60 509,719.70 188,109.90 ID 2,351 462,552.70 389,062.30 73,490.40 IL 7,567 245,949.10 170,549.60 75,399.50 IN 3,041 99,094.00 67,841.50 31,252.50 KS 9,987 1,201,351.40 1,059,769.90 141,581.50 KY 2,244 88,547.10 79,723.50 8,823.60 LA 576 49,486.50 26,189.90 23,296.60 MA 0 0 0 0 MD 23 2,042.50 1,120.10 922.40 ME 385 15,619.50 12,334.10 3,285.40 MI 1,960 70,006.80 49,017.10 20,989.70 MN 10,708 623,434.00 508,163.00 115,271.00 MO 12,310 533,165.30 454,664.80 78,500.50 MS 5,035 270,710.00 225,624.40 45,085.60 MT 10,039 1,496,743.10 1,011,951.80 484,791.30 NC 1,020 26,291.50 24,474.00 1,817.50 ND 12,011 1,286,490.80 841,782.10 444,708.70 NE 6,484 542,170.90 426,972.80 115,198.10 NH 1 55.00 0 55.00 NJ 0 0 0 0 NM 1,873 450,488.40 287,646.70 162,841.70 NV 0 0 0 0 NY 251 9,243.30 5,201.40 4,041.90 OH 2,318 87,448.30 54,965.90 32,482.40 OK 4,058 472,653.50 369,222.10 103,431.40 OR 1,258 208,581.10 197,511.80 11,069.30 PA 279 9,958.90 8,162.20 1,796.70 PR 2 14.00 0 14.00 RI 0 0 0 0 SC 1,772 61,400.00 54,157.50 7,242.50 SD 6,564 586,681.50 331,138.60 255,542.90 TN 3,484 150,316.90 139,958.90 10,358.00 TX 8,434 1,426,122.70 1,138,618.20 287,504.50 UT 711 150,727.00 117,076.00 33,651.00 VA 696 17,306.40 16,244.00 1,062.40 VT 1 30.00 30.00 0 WA 2,839 431,781.00 378,693.00 53,088.00 WI 7,165 224,122.90 165,924.60 58,198.30 WV 5 23.70 0 23.70 WY 796 150,283.30 101,990.60 48,292.70 TOTALS: 162,076 13,556,222.20 10,448,163.20 3,108,059.00 #