IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:

• April 17, 2026 - deadline to submit offer for CRP SIGNUP - General CRP Signup 66
• April 17, 2026 – deadline to submit FBA – Farmers Bridge Assistance application.
• April 30, 2026 - SDRP - Supplemental Disaster Relief Program – Stage 1 and Stage 2 – application.
• July 15, 2026 - Spring acreage reporting deadline

VISIT Farmers.gov for more information regarding deadlines and programs available through FSA and NRCS.

CRP PRIMARY NESTING SEASON – March 15 – July 15

No grazing or contract management activities authorized. Grassland CRP contracts are exempt.

FARMER BRIDGE AND SDRP 1 AND 2 and ELIGIBILITY DOCUMENTS NOTIFICATIONS

It’s important that producers review their email frequently.

The past couple of weeks, the Kiowa County FSA staff have been emailing producers regarding the impending program deadline for both Farmer Bridge Program (FBA) and/or Supplemental Disaster Relief Program stage 1 and/or 2 (SDRP) applications. The office also has many producers who need to submit eligibility documents to be eligible for the payments. The office has also mailed some applications and it’s important not to delay opening the envelope and completing the applications enclosed.

If an email notifies you that the forms have been sent for digital signature, the email for the digital signature will show up in your mailbox from ‘OneSpan Sign’ not from the employee’s email address.

Kiowa County FSA Employee email addresses are as follows, if you have an email from any of these addresses, please respond to the email.

• Dawna Weirich – CED – dawna.weirich@usda.gov
• Brandi Nevius – PA brandi.nevius@usda.gov
• Teri Ellis – PA teri.ellis@usda.gov
• Katie Kopasz - PA Katherine.kopasz@usda.gov

CRP OFFERS - NO SUCCESSION-IN-INTEREST ALLOWED

Producers who have submitted or will be submitting any CRP offer for enrollment or re-enrollment need to be aware that if an offer is submitted. The producer who submitted the offer must hold title to the land in question throughout the entire offer process.

FSA has no provisions to allow succession in interest to offers, FSA allows succession in interest to contracts only.  An offer is not a contract. 

CONTRACT MANAGEMENT

Producers who completed contract management prior to the March 15 primary nesting season beginning need to submit an invoice to FSA so that the activity can be documented and the required paperwork can be processed.

Primary Nesting Season for CRP ends on July 15. 

CRP GENERAL SIGNUP

March 9, 2026, FSA began accepting offers for General CRP signup 66 through April 17, 2026. Currently, continuous signup (explained below) will continue through March 20^th. Producers interested in submitting an offer need to contact the FSA office. FSA will run a report which will give the producer the maximum rental rate per acre. For new land to be eligible, the land must meet cropping history requirements and eligible producer requirements. Cropping history years are 2012 through 2017. The producer submitting the offer must have operated or owned the land for at least one year by the April 17^th date. Land that currently has a tenant or sharecropper must either be afforded the opportunity to participate in the CRP contract or voluntarily release their interest in the CRP offer.

Producers with any expiring contract is eligible to offer land for General CRP. Grassland CRP signup will be announced later this year.

Farmers Bridge Assistance Program

Producers who haven’t applied for the FBA program, need to do so no later than April 17, 2026. Call the office today to make arrangements to get your application signed.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has opened the enrollment period for the Farmer Bridge Assistance (FBA) program, providing $11 billion in one-time bridge payments to row crop producers in response to temporary trade market disruptions and increased production costs. The FBA enrollment period opened Feb. 23 and closes April 17, 2026.  

These bridge payments are authorized under the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act and are administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA). Bridge payments are intended in part to aid farmers until historic investments from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), including reference prices which are set to increase between 10-21 percent for major covered commodities and will reach eligible farmers after Oct. 1, 2026. 

How to Apply 

Pre-filled applications will be available online to producers with a Login.gov account who timely filed their 2025 crop acreage report for eligible commodities. Producers who have a Login.gov account can access and submit their pre-filled application  fsa.usda.gov/fba. Additionally, producers can also request their pre-filled FBA application from their FSA county office.  

April 17, 2026, is the deadline to submit completed FBA applications. Producers can complete FBA applications online or submit to their FSA county office.  

Login.gov 

Login.gov is the public’s one account for government. Producers can use one account and password for secure, private access to participating government agencies, including FSA.  

To apply for FBA online, producers can start by fsa.usda.gov/fba. to create their Login.gov account. Producers who have an existing Login.gov account, can work with FSA using their existing account.   

With a secure Login.gov account, producers can be amongst the first to apply for FBA allowing them to view, certify, and submit their application as well as track their application and payment status.  

For assistance creating a Login.gov account, https://login.gov/help/.   

Eligibility 

The following commodities are eligible for FBA: Barley, Chickpeas, Corn, Cotton, Lentils, Oats, Peanuts, Peas, Rice, Sorghum, Soybeans, Wheat, Canola, Crambe, Flax, Mustard, Rapeseed, Safflower, Sesame, and Sunflower.  

All intended uses for FBA eligible commodities are eligible excluding grazing, experimental, green manure, left standing, or cover crops. Initial acres, double crop acres, and subsequently planted acres, are eligible. Prevent plant acres are not eligible.  

Crop insurance linkage is not required; however, USDA strongly urges producers to take advantage of the new risk management tools provided for in OBBBA to best protect against future price risk and volatility.  

More information on FBA is available online  fsa.usda.gov/fba also at Farmers.gov and as always, producers can also contact their local FSA county office.

Producers have until April 19, 2027, to submit eligibility documents.