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USDA-Farm Service Agency (FSA) State Executive Director Linda Hennen announced that additional Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres have been authorized for emergency haying and grazing in Minnesota due to prevailing drought conditions. The Minnesota FSA State Committee approved, after receiving concurrence today from the State Technical Committee, emergency haying and grazing of otherwise ineligible CRP conservation practices (CP). The expanded authorization includes the following practices: CP8A, Grass Waterway-Non easement; CP23 and CP23A, Wetland Restorations; CP25, Rare and Declining Habitat; CP27 and CP28, Farmable Wetlands Pilot (FWP) Wetland and Buffer; CP37, Duck Nesting Habitat; CP41, FWP Flooded Prairie Wetlands.
These are in addition to the following practices that were released earlier: CP1, CP2, CP4D, CP10, CP18B, and CP18C.
"Minnesota has over 500,000 additional acres of CRP that will now be available for haying and grazing to help livestock producers get through the severe drought conditions," stated Hennen. "This temporary modification of long-standing policy is very good news for livestock producers nationwide, and comes at a very critical time. It adds to other Federal and State efforts to open conservation lands for grazing and haying to help relieve the devastation of the drought," she said.
Emergency haying and grazing of CRP is now open in 71 of the 87 Minnesota counties where the severity of the drought has at least reached the "D0" level, Abnormally Dry, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor as of July 19, 2012, or later. To initiate emergency haying and grazing of CRP, producers must first contact their local FSA office to apply. Producers must sign a modified conservation plan to allow haying and grazing. No more than 50 percent of a CRP field may be hayed, and haying must be completed by August 31, 2012. No more than 75 percent of a field may be grazed, and the grazing must end by Sept. 30, 2012. Haying or grazing cannot occur within 120 feet of a stream or other permanent water body, or on acres devoted to trees.
The CRP-authorizing legislation requires a payment reduction to be assessed. Generally, CRP participants are assessed a haying or grazing payment reduction of 25 percent. For 2012 only, the 25 percent haying and grazing payment reduction has been reduced to 10 percent.

Milk Income Loss Contracts (MILC)
The MILC June payment rate is $1.36775 cents per hundred weight.

Non-insured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP)
The deadline to purchase NAP coverage for Fall-Seeded Annual Crops is Sept. 1. Producers are reminded that data provided to FSA and to your crop insurance agency must match. The NAP crop production reporting deadline for last year's NAP producers is no later than this year's crop acreage reporting date.

Upcoming deadlines for 2012
Aug. 31, 2012 - Emergency haying on CRP ends
Sept. 1, 2012 - Deadline to purchase NAP coverage on fall-seeded annual crops
Sept. 30, 2012 - Emergency Grazing on CRP ends
Farm Service Agency is an Equal Opportunity Lender, Complaints about discrimination should be sent to: Secretary of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. 20250. Visit the Farm Service Agency website at: www.fsa.usda.gov/ [[In-content Ad]]

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