USDA PROVIDES $17.5 MILLION TO PROTECT FARMLAND

WASHINGTON, June 5, 2001-The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced today that $17.5 million is available to help communities in 28 states protect precious farmland.

These funds, available through USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service, will protect an estimated 28,000 acres in the following states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.

Through the Farmland Protection Program, USDA enters into agreements with states, tribes, local governments, and nonprofit organizations-such as land trusts, open space associations, and land resource conservation councils-to protect productive farmland through the purchase of conservation easements.

To participate in the program, landowners agree to limit the use of their land for nonagricultural purposes and have pending offers for acquisition of agricultural conservation easements.

To qualify, the farmland must be:

· included in a pending offer from a nongovernmental organization, state, tribe, or local farmland protection program;

· privately owned;

· covered by a conservation plan;

· large enough to sustain agricultural production;

· accessible to markets for what the land produces; and

· surrounded by parcels of land that can support long-term agricultural production.

The Farmland Protection Program was established in the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996. The Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000 added nongovernmental organizations to the list of eligible partners.

The following is a detailed listing of the fiscal year 2001 allocation by state:

California $1,117,400

Colorado $540,200

Connecticut $623,500

Delaware $617,300

Florida $729,600

Idaho $212,200

Illinois $520,000

Iowa $289,100

Kentucky $635,800

Maine $663,800

Maryland $718,400

Massachusetts $637,800

Michigan $562,200

Montana $103,200

New Hampshire $527,900

New Jersey $765,600

New York $440,900

North Carolina $598,100

Oklahoma $26,000

Pennsylvania $665,800

Rhode Island $527,300

South Carolina $299,500

Texas $480,500

Utah $116,500

Vermont $3,452,800

Virginia $521,800

Washington $588,800

Wisconsin $518,000

TOTAL $17,500,000

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