New Conservation Reserve Program Signup Announced

September 29, 1999

USDA will conduct another signup for the Conservation Reserve Program Jan. 18-Feb. 11. Eligible CRP offers will continue to be evaluated using an environmental benefits index. The EBI is based on the potential environmental benefits to be gained from enrolling the land in the CRP. Decisions on the EBI cutoff will be made after signup ends.

The cutoff is decided after analyzing the EBI numbers of all offers. But those that meet previous signup EBI thresholds are not guaranteed a contract under the upcoming signup.

USDA may maintain CRP enrollment up to the limit of 36.4 million acres. About 31.5 million acres will be enrolled in contracts as of Oct. 1; about 400,000 acres are part of contracts that expire Sept. 30, 2000. Contracts awarded under the upcoming signup will become effective Oct. 1, 2000.

"Producers can avoid the highly competitive EBI under the general signup by enrolling the most environmentally desirable land under CRP's continuous signup program," said Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman. Under the continuous signup, relatively small parcels of land serving much larger areas, such as filter strips, riparian buffers and grass waterways, can be enrolled any time.