Protect Your USDA Program Eligibility:
Check with NRCS on Drainage and Wetland Issues
Madison, WI ……..With a very wet cool spring and a slow planting season, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) reports that many farmers are considering doing some additional drainage or tiling. NRCS field offices are very busy with increased requests for wetland identification and review.
"Swampbuster is still part of USDA's conservation compliance," notes Pat Murphy, State Resource Conservationist for the NRCS in Wisconsin. "Landowners should check with NRCS before doing any drainage work, and we are doing our utmost to get to all the requests as quickly as possible."
It may be that farmers will need to plant around wet spots this year and then plan ahead for drainage maintenance this fall, rather than try to get all their drainage work done yet this spring. With the price of commodities right now, farmers are eager to finish planting. Plus with this weather, many may be thinking they need additional drainage, but doing so could risk their eligibility for USDA programs. Here are the key points to remember:
NRCS recommends that USDA farm program participants contact them three months prior to the beginning the maintenance or installation of drainage practices to discuss the potential impact on eligibility for USDA programs.
"Wetland compliance, which began with the 1985 Farm Bill, is still in effect," says Murphy. "Altering wetlands for crop production can jeopardize most of your USDA program benefits. And those benefits are substantial, because they include the Farm Loan programs and Disaster Assistance in addition to commodity price support programs available through USDA.”
"Anyone who plans to participate in USDA programs now or in the future should check with NRCS before altering any wetland," says Murphy. Contact the local NRCS District Conservationist at the USDA Service Center for more information, or visit www.wi.nrcs.usda.gov..
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