WASHINGTON — Sen. Dick Lugar's proposal to phase out federal crop subsidies, a plan praised by the White House, has come under fire from Indiana farmers who rely on subsidies for a large portion of their income.

Lugar's proposal would end the subsidy program that has sent $2.5 billion to more than 92,000 Hoosier farmers and landowners since 1996.

Farmers would instead get limited assistance to buy revenue insurance to guard against drops in income. They also would have the opportunity to receive more reimbursement from conservation programs.

But some of Indiana's larger farmers don't like the plan drafted by Lugar, R-Ind., the top Republican on the Senate Agriculture Committee.

``He's just clear off-base,'' Dennis Stephen of Williamsport, who heads one of the state's largest farms, told The Indianapolis Star for a story published Saturday.

Stephen's family farm operation of 12,000 acres received nearly $3 million in federal farm subsidies under the existing farm programs, according to an analysis by the Environmental Working Group. He said his income would be cut by one third without federal help.

Stephen's operation also would be too large to qualify for insurance assistance that would end under Lugar's plan when a farm grosses more than $1 million.

``It just cuts a lot of people out,'' Stephen said. ``One million is not much anymore.''

But with the economy on the verge of recession and the federal government diverting resources to the war on terrorism, the White House also would like to scale back farm subsidies.

Lugar has tailored his proposal to fit within the maximum the administration wants to spend. At $75 billion over five years, Lugar's plan is $21 billion cheaper than a bill the House passed this month.

Mitch Daniels, the White House budget director and a former Lugar aide, said the administration believes Lugar's bill has a ``very positive outlook''.

But it faces substantial opposition from farm state lawmakers and the commodity groups that benefit from the current system.

``We don't really believe that he's representing the needs of most Indiana farms,'' said Kent Yeager, director of government relations for the Indiana Farm Bureau.

The bureau, which represents 79,000 Indiana farmers and landowners, is backing the House bill.

That bill not only continues current subsidy programs, but also adds a new one to protect grain, cotton and soybean growers when prices are low.

Neil Harl, an agriculture economist at Iowa State University, said success for Lugar's plan hinges on whether the Bush administration not only supports the measure, but promises to veto any competing proposal.

``At this point, I would say the (chance of) survival of (subsidy) payments is better than 50-50,'' Harl said.

The existing subsidy system has come under fire for rewarding big farmers in states that produce grain or cotton at the expense of farmers in other states.

Under Lugar's plan, any farmer or livestock producer — not just corn, soybean, wheat, rice and cotton growers — would be eligible for assistance as long as he or she earned $20,000 to $1 million annually.

``It means farms in every state, every county, every neighborhood share and share alike,'' Lugar said.

The proposal aims to ensure that a safety net remains in place during bad weather and low prices. At the same time, Lugar wants to avoid the overproduction that subsidies can encourage.

Lugar's plan would also end the practice of landowners who are not farmers — such as universities and city dwellers — cashing government assistance checks.

And Lugar would double the amount of money spent on conservation programs, which are another way of spreading the federal assistance in a way that many urban lawmakers will support.

``A majority of Americans ought to be for this approach,'' Lugar said.

But if he can't move the debate beyond the traditional agriculture community, he acknowledges his plan won't pass.