USDA Extends CRP Grazing, Reduces Payments

USDA on Sept. 15 announced it will extend the window for emergency livestock grazing on Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres for farmers and ranchers who are impacted by drought in 30 states.

The eligible states are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Emergency haying of CRP acreage in these states ended Sept. 30.  State Farm Service Agency committees and USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service state technical committees must agree on the need for the emergency grazing extensions before they are finalized. Once approved, producers in the 30 states may graze on CRP land until the following dates:

Oct. 20, 2006 - Idaho, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin;

Nov. 10, 2006 - Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, Missouri, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming; and

Nov. 30, 2006 - Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.

Additionally, USDA announced that CRP rental payments will be reduced by only 10 percent instead of the standard 25 percent on CRP lands that are grazed in 2006.

For more information about USDA disaster assistance, visit your local USDA Service Center or online at: http://disaster.fsa.usda.gov