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CRP VIDEO- Reasons to plant & enroll….

Sligh1

Administrator
Staff member
If anyone had any specific ?’s… fire away. I made this video in the spirit & goal of: conservation, wildlife, others getting enjoyment from it, water quality, soil benefits, etc etc. My true love for hobbies & all this stuff is probably conservation & wildlife…. Maybe over deer hunting ?!?!?! Maybe that’s too far. ;)
But,…. If this helps folks transform any amount of acres across Midwest- mission accomplished.
We did a lot of other shorter vids too - post later. That get into very specific topics. So- more to come. Purely made to help folks.
 
If anyone had any specific ?’s… fire away. I made this video in the spirit & goal of: conservation, wildlife, others getting enjoyment from it, water quality, soil benefits, etc etc. My true love for hobbies & all this stuff is probably conservation & wildlife…. Maybe over deer hunting ?!?!?! Maybe that’s too far. ;)
But,…. If this helps folks transform any amount of acres across Midwest- mission accomplished.
We did a lot of other shorter vids too - post later. That get into very specific topics. So- more to come. Purely made to help folks.
Great info video and very well done! Thanks for sharing Sligh.
In regards to burning crp/ switch grass stands etc. Say you had 4 ten acre feilds. Would you burn one of these 10 acre fields to make up 25% or would you burn say 2-3 acres of each field in rotation?
 
Great info video and very well done! Thanks for sharing Sligh.
In regards to burning crp/ switch grass stands etc. Say you had 4 ten acre feilds. Would you burn one of these 10 acre fields to make up 25% or would you burn say 2-3 acres of each field in rotation?
I’d burn the whole field. I’d burn 1 of the 4. Just for practicality reasons.
 
That was informational, get's me thinking about doing some switchgrass in some crp I have expiring that they won't allow me to re-enroll.
 
That was informational, get's me thinking about doing some switchgrass in some crp I have expiring that they won't allow me to re-enroll.
Why won’t they let u reenroll? If it’s income reasons or personal - u don’t need to say. But if it’s a technical issue of the program- be curious on details.
 
Why won’t they let u reenroll? If it’s income reasons or personal - u don’t need to say. But if it’s a technical issue of the program- be curious on details.
When I bought the farm there was what was considered marginal pasture ground surrounding 4 different ponds . They allowed me to put the acres around the ponds , up to 120' of the waters edge if I recall, into crp. I believe it was a filter strip designation. My FSA contact tells me this ground is not eligible for re-enrollment because ponds are no longer considered an eligible water source. That's about all I know about it.
 
I can't wait until the cattle pasture we broke out is eligible for crp. I think it will be a gamechanger for our property. In case anybody else has a similar situation, our fsa/nrcs told us we need to farm it for 5 years before it can be enrolled. We are in year 2. And this land has a corn base according to the fsa but has been pasture as long as we have owned it which my grandpa bought it in 1966.
 
I thought it was 4 years of the last 6 but I might have been wrong all these years.
Can someone explain base acres and why those are important? I never did quite understand them. Do they ever change?
 
I thought it was 4 years of the last 6 but I might have been wrong all these years.
Can someone explain base acres and why those are important? I never did quite understand them. Do they ever change?
I always heard it was 4 of 6 also but they said we needed 5. One extra year won't make much difference and just means we will be seeding into bean stubble which should be easier anyways. It having a corn base means we we didn't have to get permission to break the sod. There have been farm programs over the years that only payed on base acres so it can matter. There was a chance to update base acres a while back, can't remember which year.
 
Perfect timing on this video! I just purchased an 80 acre farm that has 7 acres of pasture with no crop history. I am trying to work with the FSA/NRCS to get this eligible for CRP in the future. FSA wants me to fill out a Form 1026 and then wait for NRCS to say if it's highly erodible or a wetland. Any tips or strategies used to get pasture eligible for CRP would be greatly appreciated! I don't really want to go straight corn/beans so any other crops or rotations that have worked in the past would be helpful.
farm.jpg
 
I thought it was 4 years of the last 6 but I might have been wrong all these years.
Can someone explain base acres and why those are important? I never did quite understand them. Do they ever change?
Farm bill will dictate specifically what years it need to have been farmed to be CRP eligible.
 
Perfect timing on this video! I just purchased an 80 acre farm that has 7 acres of pasture with no crop history. I am trying to work with the FSA/NRCS to get this eligible for CRP in the future. FSA wants me to fill out a Form 1026 and then wait for NRCS to say if it's highly erodible or a wetland. Any tips or strategies used to get pasture eligible for CRP would be greatly appreciated! I don't really want to go straight corn/beans so any other crops or rotations that have worked in the past would be helpful.
View attachment 125791
When someone has ground that can’t be on a corn bean rotation - they usually go: corn, beans, “meadow” (alfalfa or whatever to bale) for 4 years and then back to corn & beans. If anyone did that full rotation- u will likely be included in subsequent farm bill. Since u have bottom ground & good soil without massive slope- u have pretty much limitless options on what u rotate.
 
Little historical reminder for folks….
I remember around 2013-2015…. People were getting quotes for CRP for like “200 to 300++” & it was pretty much the same rate as what folks would pay to rent in some cases, some cases it was HIGHER. BUT- Folks had paid to pull CRP out to farm - due to high grain prices or didn’t enroll. Lots didn’t put it in - thinking cash rents were so high & might go higher.
A year or 2 later…. Grain got cut in half. I remember a buddy could have enrolled his CRP at $320 an acre. & didn’t. He rented it out after that option had sailed…. He got $175 in cash rent & had a tough time getting it. That same land got a CRP quote the next round for $140!!!!

I can think of dozens of folks who could have signed in $200’s & later couldn’t find guys to rent for even $150. So many folks regretting not enrolling. The guys that did enroll those high paying contracts sold their farms for a premium because folks wanted “higher CRP payment than they can get cash rent”. Happened all over my region.
Right now- CRP prices have climbed back up. While grain is high. My SUGGESTION!!!…. Enroll marginal ground asap!!!! If grain slips - marginal is hardest to get rented. & likely could lock in a rate for CRP higher than cash rent if grain retreats even 20%. IMO- that’s how program should work…. Enrolling the worst or mediocre ground. Keep the best production farmed. I’d be locking in every acre I could right now on low to mid-grade land.
 
Historically the crop years needed to be eligible for CRP are 4 of 6 crop years from the previous farm bill. Right now its 4 out of 6, using 2012-2017.
The other catch is there needs to be a signup for some acres to qualify. The other way to get certain acres enrolled is if they qualify for continuous CRP these are normally high priority areas. If i buy a farm and file a 1026 "Sod Buster" it averages about 6-8 years before its eligible.
Another point to be careful of is certain CRP practices do not allow food plots. These tend to be continuous practices.
 
When I bought the farm there was what was considered marginal pasture ground surrounding 4 different ponds . They allowed me to put the acres around the ponds , up to 120' of the waters edge if I recall, into crp. I believe it was a filter strip designation. My FSA contact tells me this ground is not eligible for re-enrollment because ponds are no longer considered an eligible water source. That's about all I know about it.
This is odd! I am in process of enrolling a marginal pasture farm into tree crp program right now. 5 ponds and creek are all eligible
 
Little historical reminder for folks….
I remember around 2013-2015…. People were getting quotes for CRP for like “200 to 300++” & it was pretty much the same rate as what folks would pay to rent in some cases, some cases it was HIGHER. BUT- Folks had paid to pull CRP out to farm - due to high grain prices or didn’t enroll. Lots didn’t put it in - thinking cash rents were so high & might go higher.
A year or 2 later…. Grain got cut in half. I remember a buddy could have enrolled his CRP at $320 an acre. & didn’t. He rented it out after that option had sailed…. He got $175 in cash rent & had a tough time getting it. That same land got a CRP quote the next round for $140!!!!

I can think of dozens of folks who could have signed in $200’s & later couldn’t find guys to rent for even $150. So many folks regretting not enrolling. The guys that did enroll those high paying contracts sold their farms for a premium because folks wanted “higher CRP payment than they can get cash rent”. Happened all over my region.
Right now- CRP prices have climbed back up. While grain is high. My SUGGESTION!!!…. Enroll marginal ground asap!!!! If grain slips - marginal is hardest to get rented. & likely could lock in a rate for CRP higher than cash rent if grain retreats even 20%. IMO- that’s how program should work…. Enrolling the worst or mediocre ground. Keep the best production farmed. I’d be locking in every acre I could right now on low to mid-grade land.
That's the difference in being proactive as opposed to reactive.

Think years down the road and not take the bait dangling right in front of you.
 
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