September 30, 2024
By:
John P. Talbot, Jordan P. Wimpy
Category:
Arkansas Environmental, Energy, and Water Law
Arkansas Environmental, Energy, and Water Law
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On September 25, 2024, USDA’s Acting Deputy Administrator of Farm Programs issued a Notice to all Farm Service Agency (FSA) State and County Offices, directing them to cease processing and/or approving offers of enrollment or re-enrollment in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) after September 30, 2024.
CRP was originally authorized by the Food Security Act of 1985 and is one of the largest and most successful programs in the Farm Bill’s conservation title, reaching total enrollment of 24.8 million acres in 2023, with more than $1.77 billion in rental payments to more than 667,000 landowners and producers. Through the Further Continuing Appropriations and Other Extensions Act of 2023, the 2018 Farm Bill received a one-year extension, re-authorizing CRP through September 30, 2024, but no further re-authorization or extension of authority has been enacted.
CRP contracts approved by the close of business on September 30, 2024 will continue to receive annual rental and cost-sharing payments, as well as signup incentive and practice incentive payments, but until new legislation is passed re-authorizing USDA’s authority to administer CRP, FSA offices are directed not to process offers for enrollment or re-enrollment and not to act upon or approve contract revisions or corrections that would result in an increase in CRP acreage. Unauthorized activity by a state or county office may result in a violation of the Anti-Deficiency Act.
A copy of the Acting Deputy Administrator’s Notice can be found HERE, and a USDA-FSA Fact Sheet on CRP can be found HERE.
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