GLICKMAN ANNOUNCES HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL CRP SIGN-UP Release No. 0098.97 Jim Petterson (202) 720-4623 Steve Thompson (202) 720-7961 GLICKMAN ANNOUNCES HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL CRP SIGN-UP, WITH 25.6 MILLION ACRES OFFERED WASHINGTON, April 1, 1997--Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman today announced the successful conclusion of the sign-up period for the new Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). "Preliminary figures from the field show that we got approximately 301,650 offers for almost 26 million acres," said Glickman. "Of these, nearly 8 million are new and offered for the first time, and the remaining 18 million or so are currently enrolled in contracts due to expire in September." Glickman cautioned the public that these figures are preliminary estimates only. Final numbers may vary somewhat. According to Glickman, this large pool of offers will allow the USDA to enroll those acres yielding the highest environmental benefits. "That helps us get the biggest bang for the taxpayers' buck," he added. "This was an outstanding effort on the part of the Farm Service Agency, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and all the other agencies that contributed to this effort. I want to take this opportunity to thank all the employees who worked so hard to make the 15th sign-up such a success, and the farmers for signing up in a timely manner" said Glickman. The CRP is based on voluntary partnerships between government and members of the public. Agricultural producers receive annual rental payments and cost-share assistance for establishing various kinds of protective cover on suitable farm property to protect and improve air, water, soil quality, and habitat for wildlife. Rents are based on local market rates, and acres are chosen so as to yield the greatest resulting environmental benefit. 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. Producers will be notified by mid-June as to which acres have been accepted into the CRP. The states of Texas, North Dakota, and Montana finished the sign-up period with the highest numbers of acres offered. Producers offered about 3.4 million acres in Texas, 2.5 million in North Dakota, and 2.3 million in Montana Individual sign-up statistics by state follow. These figures are taken from preliminary returns from FSA field offices. Final sign-up figures will be released later: (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) Arizona 1.00 32.80 32.80 0.00 Alabama 7,247.00 387,438.50 314,694.90 72,743.60 Alaska 45.00 25,454.70 21,313.70 4,141.00 Arkansas 1,954.00 104,059.40 84,474.60 19,584.80 California 387.00 117,248.30 112,129.20 5,119.10 Colorado 9,251.00 1,611,847.50 1,238,006.40 373,841.10 Conn 25.00 381.30 0.00 381.30 Delaware 40.00 659.50 106.10 553.40 Florida 1,503.00 75,591.70 60,454.40 15,137.30 Georgia 8,527.00 369,494.30 298,706.30 70,788.00 Hawaii 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Idaho 3,565.00 644,792.70 515,234.50 129,558.20 Illinois 13,144.00 399,270.40 250,795.00 148,475.40 Indiana 5,667.00 164,905.50 107,446.10 57,459.40 Iowa 26,678.00 1,256,919.20 871,219.00 385,700.20 Kansas 23,692.00 2,018,901.90 1,710,479.00 308,422.90 Kentucky 5,092.00 187,612.10 161,665.60 25,946.50 Louisiana 1,325.00 103,315.50 53,702.90 49,612.60 Maine 744.00 23,734.60 17,289.30 6,445.30 Maryland 272.00 7,203.00 3,247.60 3,955.40 Mass 12.00 468.10 0.00 468.10 Michigan 4,130.00 134,172.30 79,510.80 54,661.50 Minnesota 23,667.00 1,252,930.00 923,865.00 329,065.00 Mississipp 8,873.00 509,075.60 419,763.50 89,312.10 Missouri 18,442.00 1,072,604.80 870,649.40 201,955.40 Montana 14,410.00 2,270,508.00 1,435,108.00 835,400.00 Nebraska 12,093.00 1,011,663.90 749,137.20 262,526.70 Nevada 3.00 774.40 654.10 120.30 N Hamp 1.00 55.00 0.00 55.00 N Jersey 134.00 4,360.30 129.60 4,230.70 N Mexico 3,088.00 738,824.90 424,923.30 313,901.60 New York 1,049.00 33,523.70 19,859.00 13,664.70 N Carolina 2,811.00 60,660.00 50,824.00 9,836.00 N Dakota 21,284.00 2,527,196.10 1,342,584.10 1,184,612.00 Ohio 4,358.00 149,417.30 84,832.20 64,585.10 Oklahoma 8,670.00 1,009,635.60 711,801.90 297,833.70 Oregon 1,800.00 376,723.60 333,175.40 43,548.20 Penn 1,237.00 41,878.90 29,981.40 11,897.50 P Rico 5.00 88.00 0.00 88.00 R Island 1.00 2.00 0.00 2.00 S Carolina 4,593.00 151,718.60 130,630.00 21,088.60 S Dakota 14,537.00 1,449,679.10 616,396.60 833,282.50 Tenn 5,686.00 224,231.20 204,039.60 20,191.60 Texas 19,620.00 3,428,659.70 2,519,646.30 909,013.40 Utah 1,052.00 220,407.10 166,302.40 54104.70 Vermont 12.00 192.40 77.10 115.3.00 Virginia 1,694.00 37,741.90 34,503.80 3,238.10 Wash 4,853.00 794,028.70 676,435.20 117,593.50 W Virginia 30.00 737.60 256.60 481.00 Wisconsin 13,342.00 386,292.20 257,830.50 128,461.70 Wyoming 1,003.00 252,371.70 178,015.70 74,356.00 TOTALS 301,649.00 25,639,485.60 18,081,930.10 7,557,555.50 # NOTE: USDA news releases and media advisories are available on the Internet. 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