South Carolina Receives Millions in Conservation Funding

Conservation Reserve Program Sign-up Announced

COLUMBIA, SC-- April 23, 2003 -- Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman announced conservation funding allotments for states. South Carolina will receive nearly $14 million in technical assistance and over $14 million in financial assistance for conservation on private lands.

She also announced that the sign-up for USDA’s Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) will begin May 5th. CRP protects millions of acres of American topsoil from erosion and is designed to improve the nation’s natural resources base. Participants voluntarily remove environmentally sensitive land from agricultural production by entering into long-term contracts for 10 to 15 years. In exchange, participants receive annual rental payments and a payment of up to 50 percent of the cost of establishing conservation practices.

By reducing water runoff and sedimentation, CRP also protects groundwater and helps improve the condition of lakes, rivers, ponds and streams. USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) State Conservationist Walter W. Douglas said, “Acreage enrolled in the CRP is planted to resource-conserving vegetative covers, making the program a major contributor to increases in wildlife populations in South Carolina.”

The CRP general sign-up will be held from May 5 through May 30. Producers can sign up at local USDA service centers across the nation. The 2002 Farm Bill authorized USDA to maintain CRP enrollment up to 39.2 million acres.

For more information, contact your local USDA Service Center, or visit www.fsa.usda.gov/dafp/cepd/crp.htm.

   USDA-NRCS is an equal opportunity employer and provider.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE          

Contact:           
Amy O. Maxwell
(803) 765-5402
amy.maxwell@sc.usda.gov