IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:

• March 15 – July 15 - CRP primary nesting season.  No activity is allowed on CRP contracts, except for Grassland contracts. Break-outs of ANY CRP lands is prohibited during PNS.  This includes contracts that are voluntarily terminated with refunds made back to CCC and expired CRP contracts.    
• June 6, 2025 – CRP General Signup 64 and Continuous Signup 63 - May 12^th to June 6^th
• July 15, 2025 - Deadline for Spring Certification.  
• August 15, 2025 - Deadline to submit E-CAP application

Disclaimer: Information in this UPDATE is pertinent to Kiowa County FSA only. Producers reading this and that do not have FSA interest in Kiowa County are advised to contact their local FSA Office. 

Highly Erodible Land (HEL) and Wetland Conservation Compliance 

Landowners and operators are reminded that to receive payments from USDA, compliance with Highly Erodible Land (HEL) and Wetland Conservation (WC) provisions are required. Farmers with HEL determined soils are reminded of tillage, crop residue, and rotation requirements as specified per their conservation plan. Producers are to notify the USDA Farm Service Agency prior to breaking sod, clearing land (tree removal), and of any drainage projects (tiling, ditching, etc.) to ensure compliance. Failure to update certification of compliance, with form AD-1026, triggering applicable HEL and/or wetland determinations, for any of these situations, can result in the loss of FSA farm program payments, FSA farm loans, NRCS program payments, and premium subsidy to Federal Crop Insurance administered by RMA. 

CRP SIGNUP

Producers with CRP contacts expiring September 30, 2025 should be or have received a letter stating they have one or more contracts expiring and in the letter it explains the option available for that land.  Those producers have until June 6^th to contact the office with their intentions for the land.  

Expiring contracts have the following options -  

• General Signup 64 - land eligible for reenrollment, the producer has until June 6^th to notify the FSA office the contract is administered if they wish to reoffer the land for another 10 year term. 
• Continuous Signup 63 - All or a portion of the land could be offered into the SAFE, State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement if the land is located in that specific area.  
• Grassland CRP enrollment - this CRP program has become very popular over the past few years as it is a working land CRP program, meaning that there is no restrictions on grazing as long as good grazing practices are followed and drought mitigation is done during the dry years. The signup period for grassland CRP will be announced at a later date.   
• Do nothing / Contract Expiration – if you do nothing, the contract will expire September 30, 2025 and participants will receive the final payment in October 2025.  The land can be grazed or hayed after the contract expires.  To plant the land to an annual crop, please visit with FSA and/or NRCS prior to destroying the existing cover.  

New land into CRP 

Land that is not currently enrolled in a CRP program could be eligible and offered for enrollment.  FSA will determine the following – 

• Land eligibility - land must meet cropping history requirements which is be farmed 4 out 6 years, the years of eligibility are 2012-2017. 
• Producer eligibility - the producer submitting the offer must have owned or operated the land for at least one year prior to the end of signup, which is June 6, 2025

To submit an offer, producers need to mark an FSA map for the land they wish to offer.  FSA will determine land and producer eligibility and provide a rental rate per acre to the producer.  

Producers who are interested in CRP and urged to contact FSA earlier rather than later.  This process all takes time.