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:
STATE Number of Offers Submitted Number of Acres Offered Number of Offers Accepted Number of Acres Accepted
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
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