USDA Program Lets You Grow Hay and Graze and Still Get Paid

A new Conservation Reserve Program from the USDA lets you harvest hay and graze while still getting paid.  Dairy farms with 100 or fewer head are encouraged to enroll.

Participants in CRP Grasslands establish or maintain long-term, resource-conserving grasses and other plant species to control soil erosion, improve water quality and develop wildlife habitat on marginally productive agricultural lands. The land can be used for livestock production (e.g. grazing or producing hay), while following their conservation and grazing plans in order to maintain the cover.

Participants can receive annual payments of up to 75 percent of the grazing value of the land and up to 50 percent to fund cover or practices like cross-fencing to support rotational grazing or improving pasture cover to benefit pollinators or other wildlife.

Get more information at the Farm Service Agency 9025 River Road in Marcy or call 315- 736-3316.  There's also more details on the program at the USDA's website.

SOURCE: Cornell Cooperative Extension - Bonnie Collins