Release No. 0391.99 Media Contact: Andrew Kauders (202) 720-4623 andrew.kauders@usda.gov Dann Stuart (202) 690-0474 Dan_Stuart@wdc.fsa.usda.gov USDA TO ISSUE MORE THAN $1.3 BILLION IN CRP PAYMENTS WASHINGTON, Oct.4, 1999--Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman today announced that payments of more than $1.3 billion are being made to eligible producers under the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). The program will pay an average of $5,000 per farm and $45.15 per acre on more than 400,000 contracts and 270,000 farms. "The CRP is tremendously beneficial for producers and the general public," said Glickman. "It has reduced soil erosion and expanded wildlife habitat while improving air and water quality, restoring wetlands, and encouraging tree planting. And at the same time, it has strengthened farm income. "I have directed these payments be issued as soon as possible to our Nation's farmers and ranchers, many of whom are suffering from the worst agricultural crisis in a decade," Glickman said. Under the CRP, producers voluntarily retire environmentally sensitive land for 10 to 15 years. In return, USDA's Commodity Credit Corporation makes annual rental payments to producers and shares the cost of establishing approved conservation practices. Enrolled land must be highly erodible, contribute to a serious water quality problem, or provide substantial environmental benefits if devoted to certain specific conservation uses. Additional CRP information can be obtained on the world wide web at www.fsa.usda.gov/dafp/cepd/crpinfo.htm A State-by-State table listing the number of acres enrolled and amount of payments follows: CRP ACREAGE, SEPTEMBER 1999, AND OCTOBER 1999 RENTAL PAYMENTS PERCENT PERCENT NUMBER NUMBER ACRES OF RENTAL OF OF OF STATE ENROLLED TOTAL PAYMENTS TOTAL FARMS CONTRACTS ALABAMA 411,096 1.4 $17,908,035 1.3 6,229 7,909 ALASKA 24,970 0.1 $822,374 0.1 33 42 ARIZONA 33 0.0 $297 0.0 1 1 ARKANSAS 147,930 0.5 $6,376,356 0.5 1,661 2,269 CALIFORNIA 129,313 0.4 $3,933,440 0.3 268 376 COLORADO 1,938,228 6.5 $61,358,917 4.5 4,795 9,299 CONNECTICUT 231 0.0 $14,911 0.0 14 15 DELAWARE 1,729 0.0 $123,251 0.0 98 170 FLORIDA 83,847 0.3 $3,122,369 0.2 1,437 1,721 GEORGIA 253,937 0.8 $10,072,920 0.7 5,118 6,244 IDAHO 739,850 2.5 $29,175,273 2.2 2,498 4,211 ILLINOIS 721,516 2.4 $62,291,654 4.6 22,571 33,834 INDIANA 283,228 0.9 $22,639,373 1.7 9,635 13,579 IOWA 1,493,309 5.0 $137,022,145 10.2 28,980 47,110 KANSAS 2,526,733 8.5 $102,710,082 7.6 20,830 30,831 KENTUCKY 252,433 0.8 $16,837,517 1.2 4,850 6,776 LOUISIANA 144,140 0.5 $6,116,688 0.5 1,342 1,763 MAINE 23,826 0.1 $1,201,512 0.1 482 706 MARYLAND 30,305 0.1 $2,288,969 0.2 1,179 1,857 MASSACHUSETTS 85 0.0 $9,134 0.0 12 15 MICHIGAN 275,156 0.9 $15,917,473 1.2 6,691 9,000 MINNESOTA 1,163,236 3.9 $63,203,668 4.7 17,927 28,279 MISSISSIPPI 758,642 2.5 $29,701,857 2.2 9,818 13,280 MISSOURI 1,359,246 4.5 $88,196,518 6.5 15,433 22,789 MONTANA 2,963,035 9.9 $99,384,984 7.4 5,691 14,080 NEBRASKA 1,002,585 3.4 $53,732,359 4.0 9,682 14,016 NEVADA 877 0.0 $31,782 0.0 5 5 NEW HAMPSHIRE 177 0.0 $9,082 0.0 9 11 NEW JERSEY 2,272 0.0 $120,299 0.0 72 101 NEW MEXICO 585,406 2.0 $18,484,728 1.4 1,567 2,505 NEW YORK 52,480 0.2 $2,205,052 0.2 1,273 1,664 NORTH CAROLINA 84,222 0.3 $3,668,423 0.3 3,228 4,051 NORTH DAKOTA 3,082,134 10.3 $104,074,284 7.7 14,601 26,763 OHIO 296,534 1.0 $22,812,866 1.7 8,591 11,519 OKLAHOMA 976,101 3.3 $32,838,304 2.4 5,719 7,966 OREGON 387,096 1.3 $17,622,768 1.3 1,106 1,763 PENNSYLVANIA 71,117 0.2 $3,330,682 0.2 1,724 2,127 PUERTO RICO 658 0.0 $57,780 0.0 15 17 SOUTH CAROLINA 193,377 0.6 $6,628,774 0.5 4,251 6,485 SOUTH DAKOTA 1,480,056 5.0 $60,810,469 4.5 9,172 15,752 TENNESSEE 229,703 0.8 $12,028,470 0.9 4,816 6,009 TEXAS 3,661,096 12.2 $130,196,660 9.6 15,450 20,504 UTAH 186,027 0.6 $5,729,314 0.4 554 914 VERMONT 263 0.0 $12,740 0.0 20 20 VIRGINIA 45,446 0.2 $2,048,644 0.2 1,621 1,928 WASHINGTON 957,708 3.2 $46,069,985 3.4 2,947 6,256 WEST VIRGINIA 765 0.0 $30,633 0.0 35 38 WISCONSIN 600,245 2.0 $39,122,857 2.9 16,469 22,492 WYOMING 272,298 0.9 $7,705,480 0.6 615 934 U.S. 29,894,698 100.0 $1,349,802,153 100.0 271,135 409,996 1/ ESTIMATES BASED ON ACRES UNDER CONTRACT AS OF AUGUST 1999 # NOTE: Farm Service Agency (FSA) news releases and media advisories are available on the World Wide Web at FSA's Home Page: http://www.fsa.usda.gov/pas/news/releases/index.htm