Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

FSA Taking Applications For Pasture Recovery

The Clark County Farm Service Agency (FSA) has begun taking applications for the pasture recovery program (PRP). Under PRP eligible farmers whose pastures were damaged by natural disaster in 2000 can receive payments to help them reestablish forage crops. The PRP is funded at $40 million. Sign-up ends May 11.

Eligible land must be in an eligible county and be established pasture (native pasture is not eligible) on which livestock is normally grazed and which was so damaged or destroyed by disaster in 2000 that seeding is required to re-establish the forage crop. Ineligible land is land from which hay silage is normally harvested.

To be eligible for PRP producers must meet all of the following criteria:

be an owner or operator of eligible land who normally grazes livestock on such land;

as owner operator be responsible for restoring and maintaining the forage crop on the affected land for the three-year lifespan of the contract;

not have gross annual income in excess of $2.5 million; and

certify on AD-245(PRP) that the pastureland was so damaged or destroyed by natural disaster in 2000 that seeding is required to re-establish the forage crop.

Only two practices are authorized under PRP:

PRP 1, reseed  with seedbed preparation, cost-share $85 per acre (maximum acres for cost-share assistance is 29.4 acres because of $2,500 pay limit).

PRP 2, Reseed  no seedbed preparation, cost-share $65 per acre (maximum acres for cost-share assistance is 38.5 acres because of $2,500 pay limit).

The state committee established the minimum seeding and fertilizer application and payment rates. The practice lifespan for both practices is three years. Lime was not included in determining payment rates.

Soil tests and chemical weed control are not required for PRP.

The maximum payment a person may earn under PRP is $2,500 per person.

There shall be no mechanical harvesting of the forage crop for the three-year lifespan of the practice.

Producers who start the re-seeding practice before completing an application for PRP payment will not be approved. Producers may start the practice after signing up, but do so at their own risk.

After the sign-up ends on May 11 the national office will compare the amount of PRP funds requested with the funds available. If the total amount of funds requested exceed the available PRP funding, a factor will be determined and uniformly applied to all requests for payment.

Contact the Farm Service Agency in Arkadelphia for more information, or phone (870)246-9816 if you have any questions.