UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Office of Communications News Room 460-A
Washington, DC 20250-1300
Internet: News@usda.gov Phone: 202-720-9035
World Wide Web Home Page: http://www.usda.gov
Release No. 0474.04
Julie Quick (202) 720-4623
Jillene Johnson (202) 720-9733
VENEMAN ANNOUNCES ADDITION OF ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE
LAND TO CONSERVATION RESERVE PROGRAM
WASHINGTON, D.C., Oct. 26, 2004 - Agriculture
Secretary Ann M. Veneman today announced that the USDA will
accept 1.188 million acres of the nation's most
environmentally sensitive land into the Conservation
Reserve Program (CRP), the nation's premier program for
protecting fragile natural resources and enhancing the
environment. The 2002 Farm Bill authorized CRP enrollment
up to 39.2 million acres.
"President Bush is committed to conservation
programs that provide incentives for farmers and ranchers
to strengthen environmental stewardship of their lands,"
said Veneman. "This program gives producers additional
resources to reduce topsoil erosion, increase wildlife
habitat and improve air and water quality on these lands."
In August, President Bush announced several
initiatives to help achieve full enrollment of the
Conservation Reserve Program. Among them were the
Bobwhite Quail Habitat Initiative, an expanded Wetland
Restoration Initiative, a Federal Register Notice seeking
public comment on CRP implementation, and a general CRP
sign-up, running from Aug. 30, 2004, through Sept. 24,
2004. The Federal Register Notice has been published and
sign-up started on Oct. 1, 2004, for both the Bobwhite
Quail Initiative and the Wetlands Restoration Initiative.
Today we are pleased to announce the results of the general
sign-up.
First established by Congress in 1985, the CRP allows
eligible farmers and ranchers to voluntarily establish
long-term conservation practices on highly erodible and
environmentally sensitive cropland. In exchange, they
receive 10 to 15 years of annual rental payments and cost-
share assistance for maintaining those practices.
For this 29th sign-up, USDA selected 1.188 million
acres of the 1.672 million acres offered in this sign-up.
This is one of the highest acceptance rates in the history
of CRP, as 76 percent of the bids offered were accepted.
These are the most fragile of the cropland acres offered
considering the environmental benefits of the CRP.
In the CRP selection process, Veneman said the
Environmental Benefits Index (EBI), which ranks CRP offers
based on five environmental factors as well as a cost
factor, has been updated to reflect the addition of carbon
sequestration. The environmental factors are: 1) soil
erosion; 2) water quality; 3) enduring benefits; 4) air
quality; and 5) wildlife enhancement.
All offers were ranked on the same basis and offers
with an EBI score of at least 248 were considered
acceptable for enrollment. The average environmental
benefits score of this sign-up is 287.
The average rental rate per acre was $50.24 providing
annual rental payments of approximately $60 million to
farmers for the 1.188 million acres. This additional
acreage raises the total acreage in the CRP to 35.6 million
acres.
USDA received just over 26,000 offers for enrollment
during the August 30 to September 24, 2004 sign up time
frame and accepted 19,732. Offers accepted under this
sign-up may become effective either on Oct. 1, 2005, or in
the following year on Oct. 1, 2006, whichever the producer
chooses.
Acreage Reserved for Other CRP Initiatives
The 2002 Farm Bill authorized USDA to expand the CRP
enrollment up to 39.2 million acres from the previous cap
of 36.4 million acres. Of the total amount available,
about 3.0 million acres are reserved for special
initiatives within CRP, including:
* A continuous sign-up program, which provides an
effective, ongoing means to protect the most
environmentally sensitive land;
* Planting flood plains to bottomland hardwood trees to
help sequester greenhouse gases, improve water quality and
restore wildlife habitat;
* The Bobwhite Quail Initiative that allows for enrollment
of field borders to provide valuable habitat for quail and
other upland birds;
* The Wetlands Initiative that allows enrollment of larger
wetland complexes and playa lakes beyond the 100 year
floodplain;
* The Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP),
which is a federal-state partnership to target additional
resources in defined geographic areas for conservation
practices such as buffer and filter strips; and
* The Farmable Wetland Program to protect certain farmed
and prior converted wetlands.
"These special initiatives are particularly helpful
in targeting the program to the most pressing environmental
needs," Veneman said. "The CREP also is a great example of
federal-state partnerships whereby our combined resources
can help improve water quality and provide other amenities
for both rural and urban people."
More detailed information on the 29th general sign-up
and on the CRP is available on FSA's Web site at:
www.fsa.usda.gov/dafp/cepd/crpinfo.htm.
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The CRP offers accepted by state are as follows:
Number of Number of Number of Number of
Offers Acres Offers Acres
Submitted Offered Accepted Accepted
STATE
ALABAMA 311 12244.2 260 10506.3
ARKANSAS 163 9087 140 7536.8
CALIFORNIA 15 2849.6 13 2608.1
COLORADO 713 118699.6 610 98200.3
DELAWARE 2 26.5 0 0
FLORIDA 42 1767.4 41 1732
GEORGIA 246 9129.9 203 7658.9
IDAHO 258 22461.3 199 14140.3
ILLINOIS 2402 51808.7 1681 36273.7
INDIANA 774 16955.4 554 11750.9
IOWA 2290 71771.3 1969 61134.8
KANSAS 3491 265373.6 3172 239950.4
KENTUCKY 382 13655.6 320 11698.7
LOUISIANA 206 9988.9 204 9894.7
MAINE 33 1336.6 11 472.3
MARYLAND 33 558.1 19 258.4
MASSACHUSETTS 1 24.1 0 0
MICHIGAN 949 29388.7 552 16467.7
MINNESOTA 1492 38600.5 1253 33207
MISSISSIPPI 539 29441.4 424 23957.6
MISSOURI 1194 57325.5 1039 49745.8
MONTANA 1156 216974.9 549 105295.9
NEBRASKA 1513 87777.7 1229 64692
NEW JERSEY 3 59.3 3 59.3
NEW MEXICO 9 1782.4 9 1782.4
NEW YORK 176 5686.8 97 2782.7
NORTH CAROLINA 286 5519.5 240 4793.8
NORTH DAKOTA 1027 90009.7 344 26402.4
OHIO 906 21400.3 616 13263.8
OKLAHOMA 465 40852.3 411 35542.4
OREGON 139 29221.7 129 28230.2
PENNSYLVANIA 65 1747 41 1067.9
SOUTH CAROLINA 95 2616.7 71 1896.4
SOUTH DAKOTA 747 51449.4 477 30157.1
TENNESSEE 330 9994.7 268 8037.6
TEXAS 1391 198250 828 112698.9
UTAH 43 7238.5 30 3936
VIRGINIA 128 2694.5 99 2340.5
WASHINGTON 680 102242.9 581 83940.6
WISCONSIN 1380 32851 1045 23521.7
WYOMING 5 1185.3 1 321.1
Total 26,080 1,672,048.5 19,732 1,187,957.4