WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Sixth District Congressman Frank Lucas was extremely disappointed by the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) announcement Thursday to sign up only 16.1 million acres in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). "It seems like someone in the USDA has it out for the farmers of Oklahoma, and for that matter, landowners of the nation," Lucas said. "It feels like we take one hit after another.

"We worked so hard to fight for the allotment of up to 36.4 million acres in the CRP in the 1996 Farm Bill," Lucas continued. "Then we fought for farmers when the USDA said they were not going to get their decisions made soon enough for farmers to make planting decisions. We were forced to pass legislation in the House to create one-year contracts for those farmers who would be affected by the USDA's slow evaluation process.

"We even included a provision in that legislation to allow for farmers to pull up their cover grass early to avoid a year without CRP rental payments or a crop revenue," Lucas said.

"Every single option we have tried to provide has been cast aside, and now the Secretary has decreased the total number of acres to be enrolled, period, with no logical reason," Lucas continued. "The Administration's budget called for 19 million acres to be enrolled in this round of CRP contracts, and now, it is suddenly 16.1 million.

"Oklahoma farmers are taking a hit because of this arbitrary decision," Lucas said. "We have over 200,000 acres that bid into the program that have now been refused, when we have 9 million congressionally appropriated acres that sit idly by.

"That's a lot of environmentally sensitive land that is now going unprotected," Lucas continued. "Not to mention, the unfair hardship this places on farmers and their families, and the many benefactors of CRP: wildlife, the environment, sportsmen, and environmentalists.

"This is just unacceptable," Lucas said. "The Secretary should expect some tough questioning by me in the upcoming days and hearings."

Under CRP, which was reauthorized in the 1996 Farm Bill, landowners enter into contracts with the USDA to place highly erodible and other environmentally sensitive cropland in long-term conservation practices for 10-15 years. In exchange, landowners receive annual rental payments for the land and cost-share assistance for establishing those practices. Of 32.9 million acres currently enrolled nationwide, some 22 million acres are expiring September 30.