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p3<5889sy>|q9s9gs|q+~q|s9x|q>gxϟ9<ϙ?3>gϞ|3s9>g>gyϟ"~όsy>g3:>g?<ϙ?0>g9 0s8?>g>gyϟ"~@sx>`02f>`? ϙ?0>g9 0y>O?'<>g>gyϟ&~@sx>`0O>p? ϙ?3>gϓ3y>O'?>g>gyϟǁ ~sy>g3O> ß?O >ϙ?3>ǵ?3y>O'?>g>gyϟ~|sy>g3_>ϟ?O&>yϘ9>sx?9>O'9>g>s|qϟς??<|yǞys|>s9|gx?&?Ϝ898>p8"?<>g>pϜxp~s>p8?px?&?ϟ yy>>x?<>"?>g>|'Ϝ|>x?s>|>?sx?~ߐdžߏǂ?σ{??σ>=<??ρ x8ς'ρ>Oρ>Oρ񟞁ς'ρ>Oρ>Oρ?~?ρς-'σO>OO>O!?<x y<ρ27N>o>o<`yLJ?8p >|q89?ρ2?s8x9yy|9?sg993ρ? 33~ρyy?sg983ρ? ə3&0~s  ?8xyǎx|?3?~8q3-τO8!9s<pg? ????@*J:\DRAFTS\NRLOGO.WPGJ:\DRAFTS\NRLOGO.WPGhd\,3BV4d\, d  dd(3$ !  'dxd( $ Figure  1   VZY I&mage <=8C HKKKK !  _  XwXXX,j\6&"`z1% `E,,%y%y,,%j (#(#        (#(#ReleaseNo.0380.99#XXXXwE#XwXXXMediaContact:Andrew_Kauders_Ԁ(202)7204623andrew.kauders@usda.govPublicContact:_Dann_ԀStuart(202)6900474Dan_Stuart@wdc.fsa.usda.gov    9USDASETSNEXT_CRP_Ԁ_SIGNUP_Ԁ20FORJANUARYFEBRUARY2000     WASHINGTON,SEPT.28,1999--AgricultureSecretaryDan_Glickman_ԀtodayannouncedthatthenextConservationReserveProgram(_CRP_)general_signup_Ԁwillbeheldduringa4-weekperiodfromJanuary18throughFebruary11,2000,inUSDAlocalservicecentersacrossthenation.  "Thisisanopportunityforfarmersandlandownerstoparticipateinacost-effective,voluntaryprogramtoimprovetheirland,water,andwildliferesourcesandlockina_multiyear_paymentbasedonlocalrentalrates,"_Glickman_Ԁsaid."Itisalsoanopportunityforparticipantswithcontractsexpiringnextfalltomakenewcontractoffers."  USDAwillcontinuetoevaluateandrankeligible_CRP_ԀoffersusinganEnvironmentalBenefitsIndex(_EBI_),whichisbasedonthepotentialenvironmentalbenefitsgainedfromenrollingthelandinthe_CRP_.Decisionsonthe_EBI_Ԁcutoffwillbemade#XXXXw#XwXXXԀafter_signup_Ԁ20ends.  The_EBI_Ԁcutoffusedinprevious_signups_Ԁmaynotbeusedforthisone.Thecutoffisdecidedafteranalyzingthe_EBI_Ԁnumbersofalltheoffers.Thosewhowouldhavemetprevious_signup_Ԁ_EBI_thresholdsarenotguaranteedacontractunder_signup_Ԁ20.  "_CRP_Ԁisahighlysuccessfulandcompetitiveprogram,"said_Glickman_."Iencouragealllandownerstofindoutaboutthe_EBI_ԀbeforetheFebruary11,2000,deadline,andtoconsultwithlocalUSDAexpertsonstepstheycantaketomaximize_EBI_Ԁpointsandincreasethelikelihoodthattheirbidwillbeaccepted."  The_EBI_Ԁinplaceforthe20th_signup_Ԁisverysimilartothe_EBI_Ԁusedforlastyears_signup_.  TheFarmServiceAgencyisauthorizedtomaintain_CRP_Ԁenrollmentupto36.4millionacres.Approximately31.5millionacreswillbeenrolledin_CRP_ԀcontractsasofOctober1,1999.About400thousandacrescurrentlysubjectto_CRP_ԀcontractswillexpireonSeptember30,2000.Thecontractsawardedunder_signup_Ԁ20willbecomeeffectiveonOctober1,2000.  Producerscanavoidthehighlycompetitive_EBI_Ԁunderthegeneral_signup_Ԁbyenrollingthemostenvironmentallydesirablelandunder_CRP_scontinuous_signup_program,   @ more 1/4 Ї  _ @ __ @` __ @ __ @ __ @h _______________________2_Glickman_Ԁsaid.Underthecontinuous_signup_,relativelysmallamountsoflandservingmuchlargerareas,suchasfilterstrips,riparianbuffers,andgrasswaterways,canbeenrolledatanytime..Normaleligibilityrequirementsapply,butthecompetitivenatureofthe_EBI_Ԁiswaivedbecauseofthehighlyenvironmentallydesirablenatureofthepracticesavailable.  The_CRP_ԀisdesignedtoimprovetheNationsnaturalresourcebase.ParticipantsvoluntarilyenterintocontractswithUSDAtoenrollerodibleandotherenvironmentallysensitivelandinlong-termcontractsfor10to15years.Inexchange,participantsreceiveannualrentalpaymentsandapaymentofupto50percentofthecostofestablishingconservationpractices.  TheprogramprotectsmillionsofacresofAmericantopsoilfromerosion.Byreducingwaterrunoffandsedimentation,italsoprotectsgroundwaterandhelpsimprovetheconditionoflakes,rivers,ponds,andstreams.Acreageenrolledinthe_CRP_Ԁisplantedtoresource-conserving(vegetative)covers,whichmaketheprogramthemajorcontributortoincreasesinwildlifepopulationsinmanypartsofthecountry.  #  #XXXXwv#