Source: USDA, 8/7/20
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) today announced changes for emergency haying and grazing of acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). This includes changes outlined in the 2018 Farm Bill that streamlines the authorization process for farmers and ranchers. "FSA authorizes emergency haying and grazing of Conservation Reserve Program acres under certain conditions to provide emergency relief to livestock producers in times of severe drought or similar natural disasters," said FSA Administrator Richard Fordyce. “These program changes will simplify the authorization process with an automatic trigger by severe drought designation, allowing livestock producers to quickly access much-needed forage.” Program Changes Previously
emergency haying and grazing requests originated with FSA at the county level and
required state and national level approval. Now approval will be based on
drought severity as determined by the U.S. Drought
Monitor. To
date, 500 counties nationwide have triggered eligibility for emergency haying
and grazing on CRP acres. A list by state and map of eligible counties are updated weekly and available on FSA’s website. Producers
located in a county that is designated as severe drought (D2) or greater on or
after the last day of the primary nesting season are eligible for emergency
haying and grazing on all eligible acres. Additionally, producers located in
counties that were in a severe drought (D2) status any single week during the
last eight weeks of the primary nesting season may also be eligible for
emergency haying and grazing unless the FSA County Committee determines that
forage conditions no longer warrant emergency haying and grazing. Counties
that trigger for Livestock
Forage Disaster Program (LFP) payments based on the U.S.
Drought Monitor may hay only certain practices on less than 50% of eligible
contract acres. Producers should contact their local FSA county office for
eligible CRP practices. Counties that don’t meet the drought monitor qualifications but have a 40% loss of forage production may also be eligible for emergency haying and grazing outside of the primary nesting season. CRP Emergency Haying and Grazing Provisions Before
haying or grazing eligible acres, producers must submit a request for CRP
emergency haying or grazing to FSA and obtain a modified conservation plan from
the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Emergency
grazing is authorized for up to 90 days and emergency haying is authorized for
up to 60 days. Program participants must stop haying and grazing 30 days before
the first freeze date in the fall based on the dates established for LFP. Under
the emergency grazing provisions, producers can use the CRP acreage for their
own livestock or may grant another livestock producer use of the CRP acreage.
The eligible CRP acreage is limited to acres located within the approved
county. For
emergency haying, producers are limited to one cutting and are permitted to
sell the hay. Participants must remove all hay from CRP acreage within 15 days
after baling and remove all livestock from CRP acreage no later than 1 day
after the end of the emergency grazing period. There will be no CRP annual
rental payment reduction for emergency haying and grazing authorizations. More Information For
more information on CRP emergency haying and grazing visit fsa.usda.gov/crp or
contact your FSA county office. To locate your FSA office, visit farmers.gov/service-locator.
For more disaster recovery assistance programs, visit farmers.gov/recover. All
USDA Service Centers are open for business, including some that are open to
visitors to conduct business in person by appointment only. All Service Center
visitors wishing to conduct business with the FSA, Natural Resources
Conservation Service or any other Service Center agency should call ahead and
schedule an appointment. Service Centers that are open for appointments will
pre-screen visitors based on health concerns or recent travel, and visitors
must adhere to social distancing guidelines. Visitors may also be required to
wear a face covering during their appointment. Field work will continue with
appropriate social distancing. Our program delivery staff will be in the
office, and they will be working with our producers in office, by phone and
using online tools. More information can be found at farmers.gov/coronavirus. |