As a result of the recent drought and temperature extremes across Missouri affecting foraging and haying, on July 18, 2012, Edward Hamill, state executive director of USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) in Missouri, released a statement announcing emergency haying and grazing use of the (CRP) Conservation Reserve Program throughout Missouri. This emergency release authorized 77 Missouri counties. Additional counties can still be approved in the future if the qualifications are met.
Missouri counties currently approved for emergency CRP haying and grazing within the Ozark Farm & Neighbor coverage area are: Bates, Douglas, Ozark, Polk, St. Clair and Webster. A complete list of approved counties is available at www.ozarksfn.com.
USDA Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is available to agricultural producers to help safeguard environmentally sensitive land. Producers volunteer to enroll in CRP and create contracts between 10 and 15 years. The FSA provides them with rental payments and cost-share assistance for participating in this program.
Under the emergency authorization, it is important that an eligible CRP producer first requests approval and obtains a modified conservation plan from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) for any who are interested in haying or grazing CRP, and current CRP producers who choose to provide land for haying or grazing to an eligible livestock producer.
Emergency haying is allowed only until Aug. 31, 2012. Producers must leave at least 50 percent of each field or contiguous fields unhayed. Producers must have their hay removed from the field by Sept. 15th.
Emergency grazing is allowed through Sept. 30, 2012 and all livestock should be removed by that date. Producers should leave at least 25 percent of each field or contiguous CRP field ungrazed, or graze not more than 75 percent of the stocking rate.
Hamill said emergency haying and grazing cannot be allowed on the same acreage and only certain CRP practices are eligible. The Secretary of Agriculture had announced earlier this year on July 11, 2012, that the payment reduction for emergency haying and grazing was reduced from 25 to 10 percent of the rental payment per acre for this year.
County FSA committees may request emergency haying or grazing for all or part of a county from the state FSA committee using the U.S. Drought Monitor. The state FSA committee may approve emergency haying and grazing on a county-by-county basis if the county is designated as level ”D3 Drought-Extreme” or ”D4-Exceptional” according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
CRP producers requesting emergency or managed haying and grazing must file a request with their county FSA office indicating the acreage to be hayed or grazed before the activity begins.
