Haying Opportunities on CRP Acreage

Door County USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) Executive Director Tim Siehr recently announced that participants enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) may now request to hay or graze certain acres enrolled in CRP under the program’s managed haying/grazing provisions. Hay harvested from CRP acres may be used by the program participant, sold or donated to another individual. Prior to haying, CRP participants must visit their local FSA office to sign a request to hay the acreage and work with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to amend the conservation plan.

Not all CRP acreage is eligible for haying. Any acreage that has been seeded to a cover within the last 12 months or planted to trees or shrubs, is within 120 feet of a stream or other permanent water body, enrolled as a filter strip, or any other CRP practice that is, by policy, prohibited from being hayed is considered ineligible for haying. In addition, the haying of CRP acreage is only allowed once every three years; acreage that was hayed in 2013 or 2014 is not eligible for haying in 2015.

Haying or grazing cannot begin until the participant receives written approval in the form of a letter from FSA. Producers who hay or graze CRP acreage without first obtaining approval from FSA will be subject to payment reductions and/or contract termination. Interested parties should contact their local FSA office for more information.