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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 !  _  TXXT,j\ 6&"`z1% `E,,%y%y,,%j (#(#         (#(##X X7##XXXX V#ReleaseNo.0010.00 4  _Dann_ԀStuart(202)6900474Dan_Stuart@wdc.fsa.usda.gov    +_GLICKMAN_ԀREMINDSFARMERS_CRP_ԀSIGNUPSTARTSNEXTWEEK      WASHINGTON,Jan.12,2000--AgricultureSecretaryDan_Glickman_ԀremindedfarmersandlandownerstodaythattheConservationReserveProgram(_CRP_)generalsignupwillbeginnextweek,January18thandrunthroughFebruary11,2000,inlocalUSDAservicecentersacrossthenation.  Thisisanopportunityforfarmersandlandownerstoparticipateinacost-effective,voluntaryprogramtoimprovetheirland,water,andwildliferesourcesandlockinamultiyearpaymentbasedonlocalrentalrates,_Glickman_Ԁsaid. Itisalsoanopportunityforparticipantswithcontractsexpiringthisfalltomakenewcontractoffers.  USDAwillcontinuetoevaluateandrankeligible_CRP_ԀoffersusinganEnvironmentalBenefitsIndex(EBI),whichisbasedonthepotentialenvironmentalbenefitsgainedfromenrollingthelandinthe_CRP_.DecisionsontheEBIcutoffwillbemadeaftersignup20ends.TheEBIcutoffusedinprevious_signups_Ԁmaynotbeusedforthisone.ThecutoffisdecidedafteranalyzingtheEBInumbersofalltheoffers.ThosewhowouldhavemetprevioussignupEBIthresholdsarenotguaranteedacontractundersignup20.  _CRP_Ԁisahighlysuccessfulandcompetitiveprogram,i"ijjsaid_Glickman_.k"kl lIencouragealllandownerstofindoutabouttheEBIbeforetheFebruary11,2000,deadline,andtoconsultwithlocalUSDAexpertsonstepstheycantaketomaximizeEBIpointsandincreasethelikelihoodthattheirbidwillbeaccepted.m"mnn  TheFarmServiceAgencyisauthorizedtomaintain_CRP_Ԁenrollmentupto36.4millionacres.Approximately31.5millionacreswereenrolledin_CRP_ԀcontractsasofOctober1,1999.About400,000acresaresubjectto_CRP_ԀcontractsthatwillexpireonSeptember30,2000.Thecontractsawardedundersignup20willbecomeeffectiveonOctober1,2000.  ProducerscanavoidthehighlycompetitiveEBIunderthegeneralsignupbyenrollingthemostenvironmentallysensitivelandunder_CRP_scontinuoussignupprogram,_Glickman_said.Underthecontinuoussignup,relativelysmallamountsoflandservingtoprotectmuchlargerareas,suchasfilterstrips,riparianbuffers,andgrasswaterways,maybeenrolledatanytime.o -,1  -,1  -,1 o  ӄmore -,1 Ї2    The_CRP_ԀisdesignedtoimprovetheNationsnaturalresourcebase.ParticipantsvoluntarilyenterintocontractswithUSDAtoenrollerodibleandotherenvironmentallysensitivelandinlong-termcontractsfor10to15years.Inexchange,participantsreceiveannualrentalpaymentsandapaymentofupto50percentofthecostofestablishingconservationpractices.  TheprogramprotectsmillionsofacresofAmericantopsoilfromerosion.Byreducingwaterrunoffandsedimentation,italsoprotectsgroundwaterandhelpsimprovetheconditionoflakes,rivers,ponds,andstreams.Acreageenrolledinthe_CRP_Ԁisplantedtoresource-conserving(vegetative)covers,greatlyincreasingwildlifepopulationsinmanypartsofthecountry.r  rp#pr  rppqqr  rq#q