Full story link: http://www.usda.gov/2004/11/0503.xml Release No. 0503.04 Julie Quick (202) 720-4623 Mary Cressel (202) 690-0547 USDA PROVIDES MORE THAN $78 MILLION TO PROTECT FARM AND RANCH LAND WASHINGTON, Nov. 22, 2004-Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman today announced that more than $78 million is available to protect farm and ranch land in all 50 states and Puerto Rico through the Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program (FRPP). "This program helps ensure that valuable, productive land is protected," said Veneman. "The funds will be used to purchase conservation easements to limit conversion of farm and ranch lands to nonagricultural uses." The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will accept FRPP proposals from interested state, tribal and local governments and nongovernmental organizations until mid-March 2005 to manage the program. A Request for Proposals will be published in the Federal Register soon. For those proposals selected for funding, USDA enters into agreements with nongovernmental organizations, states, federally recognized tribes and local governments to support their efforts to protect soils and historical and archaeological sites. USDA provides up to 50 percent of the appraised fair market value of the conservation easement. To participate in the program, landowners agree to limit the use of their land for nonagricultural purposes and to develop and implement a conservation plan. The farm or ranch land must contain productive soils or historic or archaeological sites and be: · part of 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. Additional information on FRPP, including the Request for Proposals, is on the Web at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/frpp. Below is a state list of funds available to purchase conservation easements. State Funds Available Alabama $848,800 Alaska $1,554,313 Arizona $360,100 Arkansas $189,800 California $2,955,300 Colorado $2,722,100 Connecticut $2,534,694 Delaware $3,184,532 Florida $2,271,800 Georgia $961,800 Hawaii $1,917,236 Idaho $752,900 Illinois $1,302,500 Indiana $250,000 Iowa $655,300 Kansas $600,000 Kentucky $2,226,500 Louisiana $235,700 Maine $1,547,979 Maryland $3,945,900 Massachusetts $3,479,450 Michigan $2,100,400 Minnesota $672,000 Mississippi $200,000 Missouri $630,400 Montana $1,859,100 Nebraska $430,300 Nevada $1,415,860 New Hampshire $2,683,255 New Jersey $4,548,630 New Mexico $360,100 New York $2,728,900 North Carolina $2,044,800 North Dakota $241,500 Ohio $2,442,300 Oklahoma $930,600 Oregon $440,700 Pennsylvania $3,481,300 Rhode Island $2,728,085 South Carolina $1,401,237 South Dakota $189,800 Tennessee $668,000 Texas $1,130,500 Utah $804,100 Vermont $2,829,227 Virginia $1,110,200 Washington $1,334,600 West Virginia $1,645,503 Wisconsin $1,780,300 Wyoming $663,999 Puerto Rico $200,000 Total $78,192,400 # USDA News oc.news@xxxxxxxx 202 720-4623 ---------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, send email to oc.news@xxxxxxxx and reference your email address.
