CRP Cost-Share Payments Resume

CRP Cost-Share Payments Resume

I’m Lacy Gray with Washington Ag Today.

Last Wednesday USDA’s Farm Service Agency announced that hundreds of Conservation Reserve Program contract holders would have to wait to be paid cost-share payments due to the expiration of the Farm Bill on September 30th. But Judy Olson, Washington Farm Service Agency Executive Director, now has good news for producers.

OLSON: We convinced our national office to take another opportunity to review the CRP contracts with the attorneys that rendered the initial decision and we have learned that the cost-share agreements that are referred to in what we call CRP1, which is really the CRP contract that each producer signs, is the basis, and provides an adequate basis, for interpreting that the legal obligation for cost-share was created with the signing of that contract. So those contracts that were entered by the end of the fiscal year will be allowed to have their cost-share paid after it’s submitted without a violation to the law because we do not have a continuation of a farm bill at this point in time.

Olson says there may be a slight delay as payment processing software is updated to address the expiration of the farm bill.

OLSON: I’m not sure when our software will be made available but we can accept and process those. We worked really diligently and people that had their signatures - they did get input and processed timely this year. Those producers that are wanting to get their work done this fall that they’ve got a (CRP) contract they’ve signed - we will figure out a way - we’ve been authorized that they do qualify for their cost-share this fall and will not have to wait until the Food, Farm and Jobs Bill is passed.

For more information contact your local FSA office.

That’s Washington Ag Today.

I’m Lacy Gray on the Ag Information Network.