USDA pays Conservation Reserve farmers $1.6 bln
Date: 03-Oct-02
Country: USA
Payments will average $46.68 an acre on 590,000 contracts on 355,000 farms, or $4,455 per farm, USDA said. Some 33.92 million acres were enrolled in the reserve.
Created in 1985 and reauthorized as part of the 2002 farm law, the Conservation Reserve pays an annual rent to growers who idle environmentally sensitive land for 10 years.
Under the new farm subsidy law, enrollment in the reserve can reach a maximum of 39.2 million acres. It had been capped at 36.4 million acres.
Iowa farmers will receive the largest total amount, $185.5 million, USDA said, followed by Texas with $142.6 million; Montana, $113.7 million; North Dakota, $109.8 million; and Missouri, $101.5 million.
Leading states for enrollment were Texas with 4.037 million acres, Montana with 3.413 million acres, North Dakota with 3.327 milion acres, Kansas with 2.659 million acres and Colorado with 2.198 million acres.
