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For Immediate Release June 12, 2012
Contact: Ethel Truly, Communications Coordinator 601-965-4300, ext.102
(Jackson, Miss.) June 12, 2012 — Michael R. Sullivan, Executive Director for the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) in Mississippi, announced that FSA has accepted 2,076 Mississippi offers made during the 43rd Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) general signup, out of a total of 2,212 offers made. The accepted offers cover 109,997 acres in Mississippi, while the total offered from the state was 116,068 acres.
Nationwide, FSA accepted enrollment of 3.9 million acres, bringing the total program enrollment to 29.6 million acres.
"For more than 25 years, CRP has protected natural resources in Mississippi while providing economic and environmental benefits to rural communities throughout the state," said Sullivan. "The newly accepted CRP offers will continue the program's legacy by improving water and air quality, increasing wildlife habitat and preventing soil erosion," he said.
Landowners enrolled in CRP receive annual rental payments and cost-share assistance to establish long-term, resource conserving covers on eligible farmland. Accepted contracts will become effective October 1, 2012.
According to Sullivan, during 2011, CRP acres reduced nitrogen losses from farm fields by 623 million pounds and phosphorus losses by 124 million pounds. CRP has also restored more than two million acres of wetlands and associated buffers and reduces soil erosion by more than 300 million tons per year nationwide.
All CRP signup 43 offers were evaluated and ranked nationally using the Environmental Benefits Index (EBI). The EBI consists of cost plus wildlife enhancement, water quality, soil erosion, enduring benefits and air quality. The national average rental rate per acre for this sign-up is $51.24.
CRP offers other enrollment opportunities on a continuous and non-competitive sign-up basis. For more information on CRP and other FSA programs, visit an FSA office or go online at http://www.fsa.usda.gov.
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