Skip to content

Farm Briefs

FB crop survey to be held on Aug. 9

The Fayette County Farm Bureau will hold its annual crop survey on Thursday, Aug. 9.
At that time, the Farm Bureau will be sending out teams throughout the county to assess the progress of area crops. The teams will include farmers, bankers, members of the media and those involved in agribusiness.
The day will conclude with a steak dinner cookout and the presentation of a market outlook report at the Farm Bureau office, located at 1125 N. Sunset Drive in Vandalia.
Scheduled for 6:30 p.m., the cost of the dinner and program is $5. For more information, or to buy tickets, call the Farm Bureau office at 283-3276.

54 counties OK'd to graze/hay CRP land

In response to drought conditions, the Illinois Farm Service Agency has authorized emergency haying and/or grazing use of certain Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres in 54 counties – including Fayette.
FSA State Executive Director  Scherrie V. Giamanco said that the following area counties also are among those  approved for emergency CRP haying and grazing: Bond, Christian, Jefferson, Marion, Montgomery and Shelby.
The haying authorization will become effective on Aug. 2, which is after the wildlife nesting and brood-rearing season in Illinois. The haying and grazing authorization shall not continue past Aug. 31. The authorization to graze also will begin on Aug. 2 and may not continue past  Sept. 30.
Wayne and Edwards counties have been approved for CRP grazing only. This, too, is authorized to begin on Aug. 2 and end on Sept. 30.
“Eligible producers who are interested in emergency haying and/or grazing of CRP must request approval at their county FSA office before haying and/or grazing eligible acreage,” said Giamanco. “It is also important for producers to obtain a modified conservation plan from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) that includes haying and/or grazing requirements,” she said.
Upon approval of emergency haying, producers must leave at least 50 percent of each field or contiguous fields unhayed for wildlife. The same CRP acreage cannot be both hayed and grazed.
In addition, participants are limited to one hay cutting and are not permitted to sell any of the hay. There will be a 25 percent CRP payment reduction based on the number of acres actually hayed or grazed.
For more information, contact your local County FSA office.
 

Leave a Comment