***NOTE CORRECTION IN THIRD PARAGRAPH IN BOLD***

USDA REALLOCATES NEARLY $60 MILLION OF FARM BILL FUNDS FOR CONSERVATION ON PRIVATE WORKING LANDS

States Receive Funds for Conservation Technical and Financial Assistance

WASHINGTON, Sept. 12, 2003—Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman today announced the reallocation of nearly $58.6 million to be used for conservation technical and financial assistance.

“This reallocation of 2002 Farm Bill funding will allow more producers to make conservation part of their farm and ranch operations,” Veneman said. “The Bush Administration remains committed to helping producers achieve good stewardship and conserve natural resources.”

The reallocated funds come from unused funds previously distributed to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service state offices, national level reserves, and the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) “performance holdback,” as called for in the EQIP final rule. This performance incentive is money held back at the national level to be awarded to states that achieve a high level of program efficiency and optimize environmental benefits. Eight states received an EQIP performance incentive due to efficiency demonstrated: Arkansas, California, Missouri , Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas.

This redistribution will help additional producers get the conservation benefits that come from conservation planning and voluntary conservation programs, such as EQIP, Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program, Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program and Conservation Reserve Program.

In addition to the federal dollars, conservation on private land is supported by contributions from state and local sources, tribes, conservation districts and nongovernmental organizations, as well as from landowners themselves who implement conservation practices and resource management systems.

Following is a state-by-state list of the reallocated funding:

The following is the breakdown of the reallocated funds by program:

Additional information on NRCS programs can be found at www.nrcs.usda.gov . Information on the 2002 Farm Bill is available at http://www.usda.gov/farmbill .

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