CRP SIGN-UP RACKS UP ALMOST 20 MILLION ACRES Release No.0093.97 Jim Petterson (202) 720-4623 Dann Stuart (202) 690-0474 GLICKMAN "DELIGHTED" AS CRP SIGN-UP RACKS UP ALMOST 20 MILLION ACRES WASHINGTON, March 25, 1997--At the end of the third week of the 4-week sign-up period for the new Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman says he is "delighted" to see that landowners have offered to enroll almost 20 million acres into the program. "All indications from the field are that CRP sign-up is going very well," said Glickman. "I am delighted at the response we've been getting from farmers and ranchers and other landowners all across the country." Reports from the field indicate that at the end of the third week of CRP sign-up, over 240,200 offers covering approximately 20 million acres were made for enrollment nationwide. Of that total, about 14.7 million acres are currently enrolled under CRP contracts due to expire in September. Approximately 5.3 million acres are new and were offered for the first time. The new Conservation Reserve Program is the single largest government environmental improvement effort. It offers incentives to farmers and ranchers to plant various kinds of protective cover on suitable farm property to protect and improve air, water, soil quality, and habitat for wildlife. The States of Texas, Montana, and North Dakota lead the way in number of acres offered. Producers offered nearly 2.5 million acres in Texas, 2 million acres in Montana, and 1.9 million acres in North Dakota. "These figures show that America's farmers and ranchers want to be active participants in the fight to clean up our environment and protect our wildlife, both for our sake and for future generations," Glickman concluded. "I want to urge all those farmers and ranchers still thinking about participating to come in to your local FSA office and sign up for the new CRP. Remember, you've only got until the end of this week!" 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. Individual sign-up statistics by state follow: (1) State (2) Number of offers 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 22 15,208.80 13,385.50 1,823.30 AL 6,127 353,717.90 292,363.40 61,354.50 AR 1,521 84,560.20 70,325.70 14,234.50 AZ 0 0 0 0 CA 145 44,789.00 43,191.10 1,597.90 CO 9,517 1,323,617.00 1,028,868.60 294,748.40 CT 0 0 0 0 DE 31 435.5 106.10 329.40 FL 1,112 53,680.70 45,818.10 7,862.60 GA 6,077 276,103.30 226,952.20 49,151.10 HI 0 0 0 0 IA 21,958 933,154.40 666,693.20 266,461.20 ID 3,103 535,748.10 433,376.60 102,371.50 IL 10,235 325,920.20 220,207.90 105,712.30 IN 4,583 141,256.60 94,119.50 47,137.10 KS 19,380 1,695,781.50 1,474,225.10 221,556.40 KY 3,292 115,827.30 104,488.80 11,338.50 LA 917 71,584.60 40,587.10 30,997.50 MA 1 8.90 0 8.90 MD 159 4,676.20 2,005.20 2,671.00 ME 555 23,302.30 16,897.20 6,405.10 MI 3,048 101,071.80 67,720.30 33,351.50 MN 17,354 968,012.00 756,648.00 211,364.00 MO 15,897 758,050.80 630,634.70 127,416.10 MS 7,197 411,705.60 353,351.80 58,353.80 MT 12,890 2,004,317.60 1,372,687.20 631,630.40 NC 1,789 47,421.40 44,534.50 2,886.90 ND 16,507 1,915,905.20 1,046,508.80 869,396.40 NE 9,666 795,855.90 612,579.50 183,276.40 NH 1 55.00 0 55.00 NJ 77 2,683.30 113.60 2,569.70 NM 2,641 631,475.10 377,212.00 254,263.10 NV 0 0 0 0 NY 678 22,822.70 14,310.00 8,512.70 OH 3,797 118,146.80 71,650.30 46,496.50 OK 6,675 762,051.20 562,320.80 199,730.40 OR 1,537 319,497.70 308,581.00 157,916.70 PA 749 25,369.40 19,754.30 5,615.10 PR 1 50.60 0 50.60 RI 0 0 0 0 SC 3,207 105,641.40 91,708.00 13,933.40 SD 11,047 1,034,066.40 492,428.00 541,638.40 TN 4,644 190,580.80 174,241.50 16,339.30 TX 14,758 2,475,780.60 1,949,833.70 525,946.90 UT 951 210,361.50 155,348.80 55,012.70 VA 1,092 25,057.70 23,069.40 1,988.30 VT 2 32.20 0.00 32.20 WA 3,975 555,294.80 468,457.50 86,837.30 WI 10,373 305,626.90 211,148.50 94,478.40 WV 15 274.80 166.50 108.30 WY 911 209,126.60 144,691.10 64,435.50 TOTALS: 240,214 19,995,708.30 14,718,311.10 5,277,397.20 # 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