Spokane, WA - July 1, 2001 - Farmers in Washington and Idaho have been among the most active participants in the Conservation Reserve Program since it began in 1987.

Washington currently ranks 10th among states for total acreage in the program, with almost 1.3 million acres enrolled in the program designed to protect sensitive lands from wind and rain erosion.

Idaho is 15th, with nearly 800,000 acres set aside for at least five years in the CRP.

In 1997, changes to the program dropped Washington to the bottom of the list for the land accepted into the program from a major agricultural state.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said it was a result of land getting a higher preference for rain erosion -- a process that helped flood damaged areas in the Midwest. In Eastern Washington, the primary danger is from the wind.

After the state's congressional delegation complained about the criteria, then-Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman met with Palouse farmers to review the rules. The following year, rules were changed and Washington had the highest acceptance rate for the program.