NEWS

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Office of Communications News Room 460-A

Washington, DC 20250-1300

Internet: News @usda.gov Phone: 202-720-4623

World Wide Web Home Page: http://www.usda.gov

Release No. 0179.08

WASHINGTON, July 7, 2008 - U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer announced today that he is releasing Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres for livestock grazing in counties recently designated as Presidential Disaster Areas because of flooding. The release permits grazing only in counties designated as primary and contiguous disaster areas and only because of flooding.

"We have a crisis situation in the Midwest and other parts of the country that calls for drastic action," said Secretary Schafer.

"Major flooding along the Mississippi River and its tributaries came at one of the worst times for agriculture. Flood waters inundated thousands of acres that cannot be salvaged for production this growing season, and it happened at a time of record crop, food and fuel prices. Our CRP land is vital to the balance we promote at USDA between production and preservation. I commit this resource knowing that we must redouble our conservation effort at every future opportunity," said Schafer.

To be approved, CRP participants must write their county Farm Service Agency (FSA) office, obtain a modified conservation plan and receive county office approval before beginning to graze. Participants will experience a 25 percent reduction in their CRP rental payments.

The states with counties that will permit livestock grazing include Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin. The counties within each state are:

Phillips, Yuma

Adams, Boone, Brown, Calhoun, Carroll, Champaign, Coles, Cook, Clark, Clay, Crawford, Cumberland, De Kalb, Douglas, Edgar, Effingham, Gallatin, Greene, Hancock, Henderson, Henry, Jasper, Jersey, Jo Daviess, Knox, Lake, Lawrence, Madison, McDonough, McHenry, Mercer, Morgan, Moultrie, Ogle, Pike, Platt, Richland, Rock Island, Schuyler, Scott, Shelby, Stephenson, Vermillion, Wabash, Warren, White, Whiteside, Winnebago

Adams, Allen, Bartholomew, Benton, Blackford, Boone, Brown, Carroll, Clark, Clay, Clinton, Crawford, Daviess, Dearborn, Decatur, Delaware, Dubois, Fayette, Floyd, Fountain, Franklin, Gibson, Grant, Greene, Hamilton, Hancock, Harrison, Hendricks, Henry, Howard, Huntington, Jackson, Jay, Jefferson, Jennings, Johnson, Knox, Lawrence, Madison, Marion, Martin, Miami, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Ohio, Orange, Owen, Parke, Pike, Posey, Putnam, Randolph, Ripley, Rush, Scott, Shelby, Sullivan, Switzerland, Tippecanoe, Tipton, Union, Vanderburgh, Vermillion, Vigo, Wabash, Warren, Warrick, Washington, Wayne, Wells, White, Whitley

Adair, Adams, Allamakee, Appanoose, Audubon, Benton, Black Hawk, Boone, Bremer, Buchanan, Buena Vista, Butler, Calhoun, Carroll, Cass, Cedar, Cerro Gordo, Chickasaw, Clay, Clarke, Clayton, Clinton, Crawford, Dallas, Davis, Decatur, Delaware, Des Monies, Dickinson, Dubuque, Emmet, Fayette, Floyd, Franklin, Fremont, Greene, Grundy, Guthrie, Hamilton, Hancock, Hardin, Harrison, Henry, Howard, Humboldt, Ida, Iowa, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Johnson, Jones, Keokuk, Kossuth, Lee, Linn, Louisa, Lucas, Lyon, Madison, Mahaska, Marion, Marshall, Mills, Mitchell, Monona, Monroe, Montgomery, Muscatine, O'Brien, Osceola, Page, Palo Alto, Pocahontas, Polk, Pottawattamie, Poweshiek, Ringgold, Sac, Scott, Shelby, Sioux, Story, Tama, Taylor, Union, Van Buren, Wapello, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Webster, Winnebago, Winneshiek, Woodbury, Worth, Wright

Brown, Decatur, Doniphan, Jewell, Marshall, Nemaha, Norton, Phillips, Rawlins, Republic,

Smith, Washington

Boone, Gallatin, Carroll, Henderson, Trimble, Union

Washington

Dodge, Faribault, Fillmore, Freeborn, Houston, Martin, Mower, Nobles, Olmstead, Rock, Steele, Waseca, Winona

Andrew, Atchison, Audrain, Buchanan, Clark, De Kalb, Franklin, Gentry, Harrison, Holt, Knox, Lewis, Lincoln, Marion, Mercer, Monroe, Montgomery, Nodaway, Pike, Ralls, Schuyler, Scotland, Shelby, St. Charles, St. Louis, Warren, Worth

Adams, Antelope, Arthur, Blaine, Boone, Boyd, Brown, Buffalo, Burt, Butler, Cass, Chase, Cherry, Clay, Colfax, Cuming, Custer, Dakota, Dawson, Dodge, Douglas, Dixon, Dundy, Fillmore, Franklin, Frontier, Furnas, Gage, Garfield, Gosper, Greeley, Hall, Hamilton, Harlan, Hayes, Hitchcock, Holt, Hooker, Howard, Jefferson, Johnson, Kearney, Keith, Keya Paha, Knox, Lancaster, Lincoln, Logan, Loup, Madison, McPherson, Merrick, Nance, Nemaha, Nuckolls, Otoe, Pawnee, Perkins, Phelps, Pierce, Platte, Polk, Red Willow, Richardson, Rock, Saline, Sarpy, Saunders, Seward, Sherman, Stanton, Thayer, Thomas, Thurston, Valley, Washington, Wayne, Webster, Wheeler, York

Butler, Darke, Hamilton, Meigs, Mercer, Monroe, Preble, Van Wert, Washington,

Greene

Charles Mix, Gregory, Lincoln, Minnehaha, Todd, Tripp

Clark, Frederick, Loudoun

Barbour, Berkeley, Braxton, Calhoun, Clay, Doddridge, Fayette, Gilmer, Grant, Greenbrier, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson, Kanawha, Lewis, Marion, Marshall, Mason, Nicholas, Pleasants, Pocahontas, Preston, Putnam, Randolph, Ritchie, Roane, Taylor, Tucker, Tyler, Upshur, Webster, Wetzel, Wirt, Wood

Adams, Brown, Calumet, Columbia, Crawford, Dane, Dodge, Fond Du Lac, Green, Green Lake, Grant, Iowa, Jackson, Jefferson, Juneau, Kenosha, Kewaunee, La Crosse, Lafayette, Manitowoc, Marquette, Milwaukee, Monroe, Outagamie, Ozaukee, Portage, Racine, Richland, Rock, Sauk, Sheboygan, Trempealeau, Vernon, Walworth, Washington, Waukesha, Waupaca, Waushara, Winnebago, Wood

Under CRP, farmers and ranchers enroll eligible land in 10- to 15-year contracts with USDA's Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC). The FSA administers CRP on behalf of CCC. Participants plant appropriate cover such as grasses and trees in crop fields and along streams. These plantings help prevent soil and nutrients from running into regional waterways and affecting water quality. The long-term vegetative cover also improves wildlife habitat and soil quality.

NOTE: Farm Service Agency (FSA) news releases are available on the Web at FSA's home page: http://www.fsa.usda.gov.