What is CRP emergency haying and grazing?

In a drought, FSA can let land in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) be hayed or grazed in counties it approves. Producers still need FSA's OK and an updated conservation plan before cutting or turning out.

CRP acres are normally kept in grass for conservation, and haying or grazing is limited, especially during the primary nesting season for grassland birds. In a drought, FSA can approve emergency haying and grazing for a county, usually triggered by Drought Monitor levels.

Each week FSA posts a table of counties approved for emergency use and the date each became eligible. Cownty reads that table and shows each region county's status.

If your county is approved:

• Contact your county FSA office before doing anything. You need a request on file and an updated conservation plan from NRCS or a technical service provider.
• The plan sets how much of a field can be hayed or grazed, how long, and the stocking rate.
• Ask about any payment reduction and the end date for emergency use. Those rules can differ by practice and year.

The CRP contract holder can also allow someone else to graze or hay the acres, for example a neighbor who runs cattle. That is a common way the acres help in a drought year.

Non-emergency (managed) haying and grazing is a separate option with its own schedule. Your FSA office can tell you which one fits.

Official sources

• FSA: Conservation Reserve Program

Rules checked against these pages on Oct 18, 2026. Live numbers update with each data load. Information only: the agency decides. Not affiliated with USDA.

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