Nebraska FSA Clarifies CRP Emergency Use Provisions
Nebraska Ag Connection - 04/09/2019
Nebraska USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) has announced additional flexibility to the emergency use of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres that is authorized for all Nebraska counties. Nebraska FSA is clarifying that producers who choose this
option can use a full CRP field, not only half of a field's acres, as originally noted.
The release of CRP acres for emergency use was authorized in late March to address the impacts of recent adverse weather. The emergency use of CRP acres provides an option for producers to temporarily move their livestock from locations negatively
impacted by the flooding, snowmelt and mud.
The emergency use authorization is effective through April 30, 2019. CRP contract holders who are interested in using this emergency authorization must contact their FSA county office to complete required paperwork before allowing use to begin. CRP
participants who use this option will need to obtain a modified conservation plan, which includes emergency use provisions, from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). CRP participants can allow others to use their CRP acres under this
emergency use authorization; however, the livestock owners also will need to complete FSA paperwork. There will be no reduction in CRP rental payments to CRP contract holders who use the emergency use authorization. CRP contract holders are not
permitted to charge livestock producers for the emergency use option.
For more information on CRP emergency use, please contact your FSA county office. To find your local FSA office, go to https://offices.sc.egov.usda.gov/locator/app. Visit USDA's disaster resources website to learn more about USDA disaster preparedness
and response.
