FSA Agency Bulletin, May 2017

[May 26, 2017]    CRP Participants Must Maintain Approved Cover on Acreages Enrolled in CRP and Farm Programs - Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) participants are responsible for ensuring adequate, approved vegetative and practice cover is maintained to control erosion throughout the life of the contract after the practice has been established.

Participants must also control undesirable vegetation, weeds (including noxious weeds), insects and rodents that may pose a threat to existing cover or adversely impact other landowners in the area.

All CRP maintenance activities, such as spot mowing, burning, disking and spraying, must be conducted outside the primary nesting or brood rearing season for wildlife, which for Illinois is April 15 through August 1. However, spot treatment of the acreage may be allowed during the primary nesting or brood rearing season if, left untreated, the weeds, insects or undesirable species would adversely impact the approved cover. In this instance, spot treatment is limited to the affected areas in the field and requires County Committee approval prior to beginning the spot treatment. The County Committee will consult with NRCS to determine if such activities are needed to maintain the approved cover.

Annual mowing of CRP for generic weed control, or for cosmetic purposes, is prohibited at all times.

CRP Payment Limitation

Payments and benefits received under the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) are subject to the following:  

• payment limitation by direct attribution
• foreign person rule
• average adjusted gross income (AGI) limitation  The 2014 Farm Bill continued the $50,000 maximum CRP payment amount that can be received annually, directly or indirectly, by each person or legal entity.  This payment limitation includes all annual rental payments and incentive payments (Sign-up Incentive Payments and Practice Incentive Payments).   Annual rental payments are attributed (earned) in the fiscal year in which program performance occurs.  Sign-up Incentive Payments (SIP) are attributed (earned) based on the fiscal year in which the contract is approved, not the fiscal year the contract is effective.  Practice Incentive Payments (PIP) are attributed (earned) based on the fiscal year in which the cost-share documentation is completed and the producer or technical service provider certifies performance of practice completion to the county office.  Such limitation on payments is controlled by direct attribution.  

• Program payments made directly or indirectly to a person are combined with the pro rata interest held in any legal entity that received payment, unless the payments to the legal entity have been reduced by the pro rata share of the person. 
• Program payments made directly to a legal entity are attributed to those persons that have a direct and indirect interest in the legal entity, unless the payments to the legal entity have been reduced by the pro rata share of the person. 

• Payment attribution to a legal entity is tracked through four levels of ownership.  If any part of the ownership interest at the fourth level is owned by another legal entity, a reduction in payment will be applied to the payment entity in the amount that represents the indirect interest of the fourth level entity in the payment entity.  Essentially, all payments will be “attributed” to a person’s Social Security Number.  Given the current CRP annual rental rates in many areas, it is important producers are aware of how CRP offered acreages impact their $50,000 annual payment limitation.  Producers should contact their local FSA office for additional information. NOTE:  The information in the above article only applies to contracts subject to 4-PL and 5-PL regulations. It does not apply to contacts subject to 1-PL regulations.

Breaking New Ground

Agricultural producers are reminded to consult with FSA and NRCS before breaking out new ground for production purposes as doing so without prior authorization may put a producer’s federal farm program benefits in jeopardy. This is especially true for land that must meet Highly Erodible Land (HEL) and Wetland Conservation (WC) provisions.

Producers with HEL determined soils are required to apply tillage, crop residue and rotational requirements as specified in their conservation plan.

Producers should notify FSA as a first point of contact prior to conducting land clearing or drainage type projects to ensure the proposed actions meet compliance criteria such as clearing any trees to create new cropland, then these areas will need to be reviewed to ensure such work will not risk your eligibility for benefits.

Landowners and operators complete the form AD-1026 - Highly Erodible Land Conservation (HELC) and Wetland Conservation (WC) Certification to identify the proposed action and allow FSA to determine whether a referral to Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) for further review is necessary.

Questions?
Please contact your local County FSA Office.

[USDA Farm Service Agency]

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call [phone] (Toll-free Customer Service), [phone] (Local or Federal relay), [phone] (Relay voice users).