USDA Montana Newsletter - August 2025
In This Issue:
Greetings and I hope your summer is going well!
Our hard-working staff has been multi-tasking to deliver our full portfolio of farm programs. Their outstanding efforts are greatly appreciated.
The program that is currently high-profile is the Supplemental Disaster Relief Program (SDRP). Stage One of SDRP has been underway since July 10 and provides assistance to producers who suffered losses of indemnified crops due to natural disaster events in 2023 and 2024. To date, we have distributed over $44 Million dollars in SDRP Stage One payments to Montanan producers. We will continue to timely process SDRP applications and issue payments. SDRP Stage Two assistance for uncovered/shallow losses will be announced at a later date.
The acreage reporting deadline was July 15, 2025. However, due to weather events that resulted in planting delays for many producers, we have been authorized to accept acreage reporting and waive the late file penalty for an additional 30 days. If you have not completed your acreage reporting, please call your local USDA Service Center and make an appointment before August 14, 2025. Any acreage reporting completed after this date will result in a late file penalty.
We have received several Secretarial Disaster Designations for drought in Montana counties that immediately triggered the availability of low-interest emergency loans to eligible producers in all primary and contiguous counties. FSA borrowers in these counties who are unable to make their scheduled payments on any debt may be authorized to have certain set asides. For more information on FSA disaster programs and disaster designations, contact your local USDA Service Center or visit fsa.usda.gov/disaster.
The nomination period for the County Committee (COC) Election cycle has closed. I want to thank producers for your willingness to serve by participating as a nominee, as well as thank producers who submitted a nomination. Nominations received are being reviewed and will be printed on the election ballots. Ballots for the 2025 COC Election cycle are expected to be mailed to producers in early November. If you missed the opportunity to participate in the nomination process and would still like to be considered for candidacy, there will be an opportunity to participate as a write-in candidate when the ballots are mailed. Please call your local USDA Service Center if you have additional questions related to County Committees.
Thank you for all you do!
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USDA in Montana reminds agricultural producers of important Farm Service Agency (FSA) program dates. Contact your local service center to apply and with any questions. Visit online at farmers.gov and fsa.usda.gov/mt.
Aug. 14, 2025: Late file penalty waiver for acreage reporting expires. Any acreage reporting completed after this date will result in a late file penalty.
Aug. 15, 2025: Deadline for producers to submit their Emergency Commodity Assistance Program (ECAP) applications to their local FSA county office.
Sept. 1, 2025: Office Closure for Labor Day federal holiday.
Sept. 1, 2025: USDA Risk Management Agency’s (RMA) Nursery Value Select (NVS) sales closing date for the 2026 crop year
Sept. 2, 2025: NAP application closing date for fall and spring seeded Canola and all Value Loss Crops.
September 30, 2025: Acreage Reporting Date for Value-loss and controlled environment crops (except nursery).
Sept. 30, 2025: NAP application closing date for all annual & perennial grass & mixed forage, garlic, rye, speltz, triticale & wheat. Please note that the acreage reporting date for your NAP covered crops is the earlier of the established FSA acreage reporting date for the crop or 15 calendar days before the onset of harvest or grazing of the specific crop acreage being reported.
Oct. 13, 2025: Office closure for Columbus Day federal holiday
Nov. 1: Last day of 2025 CRP Summer/Fall Non-Emergency Grazing Period (prior approval required)
Early November: 2025 County Committee Election Ballots to be Mailed to Voters
Nov. 11, 2025: Office Closure for the Federal Holiday: Veterans Day
Nov 15: 2025 Acreage Reporting Deadline for Apiculture, Fall Wheat (Hard Red Winter), and all other Fall Seeded Small Grains. Please note that this is the final date that FSA can accept late-filed Program year 2024 reports for these crops.
Dec. 1, 2025: Voted FSA County Committee Election Ballots to be returned to the FSA County Office or post-marked.
Nov. 27, 2025: Office Closure for the Federal Holiday: Thanksgiving Day
Dec. 25, 2025: Office Closure for the Federal Holiday: Christmas Day
Dec. 31, 2025: 2025 NAP Application for Coverage Deadline for Honey
Jan. 1, 2026: Office Closure for the Federal Holiday: New Year's Day
Jan. 2, 2026: Deadline to report Honeybee Colony Inventory for NAP and ELAP honeybee producers. Please note that producers must notify FSA within 30 calendar days of any changes in the total number of colonies and additional counties to which bees are moved.
Jan. 15, 2026: Deadline for established stand alfalfa seed, fall alfalfa seed (NAP= spring & fall Alf sd), and cherries for acreage reporting.
Jan. 19, 2026: Office Closure for the Federal Holiday: Martin Luther King Jr. Day
*Note: The Acreage Reporting Date for Spring Alfalfa Seed, all other spring seeded crops, Perennial Forage, Hemp, Grazing acreage and CRP acres is 15 days before the onset of harvest or grazing, or July 15, whichever is earlier.
*Note: Honeybee inventory must be reported by January 2nd of the program year. Report all additions (colonies bought, splits, etc.) within 30 days of the event. Report all reductions (sold, death, etc.) within 30 days of the event. Report every movement between counties or states within 30 days of the event. Contact your local USDA Service Center to report these changes.
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34 MT Counties Triggered; U.S. Drought Monitor Updated Weekly on Thursday
LFP provides compensation to eligible livestock producers who suffered grazing losses for covered livestock due to drought on privately owned or cash leased land or fire on federally managed land. For LFP, qualifying drought intensity levels are determined using the U.S. Drought Monitor. Eligible producers can apply for 2025 LFP benefits for grazing losses on small grains, native pasture, improved pasture mixed forage, annual ryegrass, crabgrass or forage sorghum.
FSA County offices can accept LFP applications following issuance of a disaster designation for drought, and if a federal agency prohibits producers from grazing normal permitted livestock on federally managed lands due to qualifying fire.
To date, the following 34 Montana counties have triggered LFP for drought criteria: Beaverhead, Carter, Cascade, Chouteau, Custer, Daniels, Dawson, Deer Lodge, Fallon, Flathead, Garfield, Glacier, Granite, Hill, Lake, Lewis and Clark, Liberty, Lincoln, McCone, Mineral, Missoula, Phillips, Pondera, Powell, Prairie, Ravalli, Richland, Roosevelt, Sanders, Silver Bow, Teton, Toole, Valley and Wibaux.
To determine eligibility for LFP assistance, producers must complete form CCC-853 application and provide required supporting documentation no later than March 2, 2026, for 2025 losses.
ELAP provides financial assistance for:
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the transportation of water to livestock;
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the above normal cost of transporting feed to livestock; and
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the above normal cost of transporting livestock to forage/grazing acres.* *Hauling livestock both, one haul per animal reimbursement and no payment for “empty miles.”
ELAP-eligible counties: Beaverhead, Big Horn, Broadwater, Carbon, Carter, Cascade, Chouteau, Custer, Daniels, Dawson, Deer Lodge, Fallon, Flathead, Garfield, Glacier, Granite, Hill, Jefferson, Lake, Lewis and Clark, Liberty, Lincoln Madison, McCone, Mineral, Missoula, Park, Phillips, Pondera, Powder River, Powell, Prairie, Ravalli, Richland, Roosevelt, Rosebud, Sanders, Sheridan, Silver Bow, Teton, Toole, Valley and Wibaux. Applications for payment and notices of loss must be completed no later than March 2, 2026, for 2025 losses.
USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) reminds producers of approaching application deadlines for purchasing risk coverage for some crops through the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP). NAP provides financial assistance to producers of non-insurable crops impacted by natural disasters that result in lower yields, crop losses, or prevented crop planting.
NAP covers losses from natural disasters on crops for which no permanent federal crop insurance program is available, including forage and grazing crops, fruits, vegetables, floriculture, ornamental nursery, aquaculture, turf grass and more.
Upcoming application deadlines for NAP coverage in Montana for the 2026 production season include:
- Canola (spring seeded): September 1, 2025
- Established Alfalfa Seed (Fall and Spring): September 30, 2025
- Garlic: September 30, 2025
- Annual Grass: September 30, 2025
- Perennial Grass: September 30, 2025
- Mixed Forage: September 30, 2025
- Rye: September 30, 2025
- Speltz: September 30, 2025
- Triticale: September 30, 2025
- Wheat: September 30, 2025
- Honey: December 31, 2025
- Apples: March 15, 2025
- Cherries: March 15, 2025
NAP basic coverage is available at 55% of the average market price for crop losses that exceed 50% of expected production. Buy-up coverage is available in some cases. NAP offers higher levels of coverage, ranging from 50% to 65% of expected production in 5% increments, at 100% of the average market price. Producers of organic crops and crops marketed directly to consumers also may exercise the “buy-up” option to obtain NAP coverage of 100% of the average market price at coverage levels ranging between 50% and 65% of expected production. Buy-up coverage is not available for crops intended for grazing.
For all coverage levels, the NAP service fee is the lesser of $325 per crop or $825 per producer per county, not to exceed a total of $1,950 for a producer with farming interests in multiple counties. Premiums apply for buy-up coverage.
If a producer has a Socially Disadvantaged, Limited Resource, Beginning and Veteran Farmer or Rancher Certification (form CCC-860) on file with FSA, it may serve as an application for basic coverage for all eligible crops beginning with crop year 2022. These producers will have all NAP-related service fees for basic coverage waived. These producers may also receive a 50% premium reduction if higher levels of coverage are elected on form CCC-471, prior to the application closing date for each crop.
To learn more about NAP visit fsa.usda.gov/nap or contact your local USDA Service Center.
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The Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) provides financial assistance to producers of non-insurable crops, including mechanically harvested forage with NAP coverage, to protect against natural disasters that occur during the coverage, resulting in loss of production, loss of value, or prevented planting of an eligible crop.
If you have NAP coverage on mechanically harvested forage, you must:
- Maintain separate production records for each unit, crop, practice, crop type, and intended use.
- Submit production records to FSA by the designated production reporting date for the crop.
- Notify your FSA administrative county office before grazing, abandoning, or destroying forage acreage reported, on FSA form FSA-578, as intended to be mechanically harvested; and request an appraisal.
- Notify your FSA administrative county office of a loss and timely file CCC-576, Notice of Loss and Application for Payment, Part B, the earlier of:
- 15 calendar days after the disaster occurs, or damage first becomes apparent.
- 15 calendar days after the crop’s normal harvest date.
- If you change your intended use or experience a loss during the coverage period, you must:
- Establish and maintain representative sample areas when an appraisal of the acreage is required.
- Inform your FSA administrative county office of the location of representative sample areas within 15 days of placing the panels.
- Request an appraisal of the representative sample areas at the end of harvest period but before first freeze.
For more information on NAP and NAP compliance requirements you must follow to retain NAP coverage, contact your local USDA service center.
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Producers who received an Emergency Relief Program (ERP) payment need to meet ERP insurance linkage requirements by purchasing crop insurance, or Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) coverage where crop insurance is not available.
Purchase coverage must be at the 60/100 coverage level or higher for insured crops or at the catastrophic coverage level or higher for NAP crops for the next two available crop years, which will be determined from the date you received an ERP payment and may vary depending on the timing and availability of coverage. The insurance coverage requirement applies to the physical location of the county where the crop was located and for which an ERP payment was issued.
Contact your crop insurance agent or local FSA county office as soon as possible to ask about coverage options. Producers who do not obtain the applicable coverage by the sales/application closing date will be required to refund the ERP benefits received on the applicable crop, plus interest. To determine which crops are eligible for federal crop insurance or NAP, visit the RMA website.
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Program payments may be limited by direct attribution to individuals or entities. A legal entity is defined as an entity created under Federal or State law that owns land or an agricultural commodity, product or livestock.
Through direct attribution, payment limitation is based on the total payments received by a person or legal entity, both directly and indirectly.
Payments and benefits under certain FSA programs are subject to some or all of the following:
- payment limitation by direct attribution (including common attribution)
- payment limitation amounts for the applicable programs
- substantive change requirements when a farming operation adds persons, resulting in an increase in persons to which payment limitation applies
- actively engaged in farming requirements
- cash-rent tenant rule
- foreign person rule
- average AGI limitations
- programs subject to AGI limitation
No program benefits subject to payment eligibility and limitation will be provided until all required forms for the specific situation are provided and necessary payment eligibility and payment limitation determinations are made. Payment eligibility and payment limitation determinations may be initiated by the County Committee or requested by the producer.
Statutory and Regulatory rules require persons and legal entities, provide the names and Tax Identification Numbers (TINs) for all persons and legal entities with an ownership interest in the farming operation to be eligible for payment.
Payment eligibility and payment limitation forms submitted by persons and legal entities are subject to spot check through FSA’s end-of-year review process. Persons or legal entities selected for end-of-year review must provide the County Committee with operating loan documents, income and expense ledgers, canceled checks for all expenditures, lease and purchase agreements, sales contracts, property tax statements, equipment listings, lease agreements, purchase contracts, documentation of who provided actual labor and management, employee time sheets or books, crop sales documents, warehouse ledgers, gin ledgers, corporate or entity papers, etc.
A finding that a person or legal entity is not actively engaged in farming results in the person or legal entity being ineligible for any payment or benefit subject to the actively engaged in farming rules.
Noncompliance with AGI provisions, either by exceeding the applicable limitation or failure to submit a certification and consent for disclosure statement, will result in payment ineligibility for all program benefits subject to AGI provisions. Program payments are reduced in an amount that is commensurate with the direct and indirect interest held by an ineligible person or legal entity in any legal entity, general partnership, or joint operation that receives benefits subject to the average AGI limitations.
If any changes occur that could affect an actively engaged in farming, cash-rent tenant, foreign person, or average Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) determination, producers must timely notify the County FSA Office by filing revised farm operating plans and/or supporting documentation, as applicable. Failure to timely notify the County Office may adversely affect payment eligibility.
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Farm Service Agency (FSA) is committed to providing our farm loan borrowers the tools necessary to be successful. FSA staff will provide guidance and counsel from the loan application process through the borrower’s graduation to commercial credit. While it is FSA’s commitment to advise borrowers as they identify goals and evaluate progress, it is crucial for borrowers to communicate with their farm loan staff when changes occur. It is the borrower’s responsibility to alert FSA to any of the following:
- Any proposed or significant changes in the farming operation
- Any significant changes to family income or expenses
- The development of problem situations
- Any losses or proposed significant changes in security
If a farm loan borrower can’t make payments to suppliers, other creditors, or FSA on time, contact your farm loan staff immediately to discuss loan servicing options.
For more information on FSA farm loan programs, contact your local USDA service center or visit fsa.usda.gov.
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There are options for Farm Service Agency (FSA) loan customers during financial stress. If you are a borrower who is unable to make payments on a loan, contact your local FSA Farm Loan Manager to learn about your options.
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Hello, farmers, ranchers, and foresters.
As the acting state conservationist for USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Montana, I will be responsible for NRCS operations that support private land managers statewide. These duties include the implementation of voluntary ag conservation through technical and financial assistance that amounts to more than $62 million for EQIP, CSP, and RCPP, conservation easement programs of more than $33 million, the Natural Resources Inventory, water supply forecasting, soil survey mapping, and the Plant Materials Center in Bridger.
NRCS Montana has been in good hands with Kyle Tackett as acting state conservationist. I am committed to continuing to support our partners and producers so that there is no interruption in conservation delivery through this transition.
Most recently, I have served as the Western Conservation Liaison for NRCS’s Western Regional Office. I have held leadership roles with NRCS since 2012, which included implementation of the largest-ever investment in private working lands conservation—through NRCS voluntary programs. Through my time with NRCS, I have also been the Regional Conservationist in the Northeast and Deputy State Conservationist for California, where water, drought, fire, and habitat conservation were priorities. As a lifelong Bobcat, I hold a degree from Montana State University and bring a lifelong passion for conservation and the farmers, ranchers, foresters, and tribal nations that care for the land, rooted in my family’s small grain and cattle ranch in Springhill, Montana.
My roots are in the West, my great grandfather pioneered and settled in the beautiful Gallatin Valley and my father was conservation farmer of the year in 1973. I am so proud to have worked for NRCS across the country, continuing that pioneer legacy and learning and collaborating with farmers and ranchers managing private lands on operations big and small, in diverse landscapes, and putting innovative conservation solutions to work on the ground. From the Hi-Line to the Centennial Valley, conservation is Montana’s way of life—and NRCS is honored to be a trusted partner. I look forward to cooperating with producers and the many conservation groups who have a stake in Montana’s future.
Contact me at the NRCS state office in Bozeman at 406-587-6811.
Gayle Norman Barry
Acting State Conservationist
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), in partnership with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), is reaching out to farmers, ranchers and agricultural landowners to gather in-depth information about the conservation practices they use.
Nearly 23,000 operators nationwide will receive the 2025 Conservation Effects Assessment Project survey. Data obtained will support the third set of national and regional cropland assessments delivered by USDA’s Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP), a multi-agency effort led by NRCS to quantify the effects of conservation practices across the nation’s working lands.
Local NASS representatives will visit farmers and agricultural landowners in August and September of 2025 to determine if their operations and properties meet the criteria to be considered eligible candidates for the survey. Eligible farmers and landowners may be contacted between November 2025 and March 2026 and asked to participate in the survey. Typical questions will discuss farm production practices; chemical, fertilizer, and manure applications; tillage; irrigation use; and installed conservation practices. NASS will provide survey data to NRCS, the agency tasked with publishing findings.
CEAP Cropland Assessments quantify the environmental outcomes associated with implementation and installation of conservation practices on agricultural lands. Findings are used to guide conservation program development and support agricultural producers and partners in making informed management decisions backed by data and science.
Specifically, CEAP results may help:
- Evaluate the resources farmers may need in the future to protect soil, water, and habitat.
- Shed light on techniques farmers use to conserve healthy environments.
- Improve and strengthen technical and financial programs that help landowners plan and install conservation practices on agricultural land.
- Support the conservation programs that can help producers’ profits while also protecting natural resources.
The CEAP survey is conducted through a cooperative agreement between NRCS and NASS. NRCS will couple survey results with modeling to report on trends in cropland conservation – and associated outcomes – from 2024 through 2026.
Information provided to NASS and analyzed by NRCS is kept confidential, as required by federal law. The agencies only publish data in aggregate form, ensuring that no individual respondent or operation can be identified.
The data from this survey will be published as a report on the CEAP Cropland Assessments webpage at nrcs.usda.gov/ceap/croplands.. If you have questions about the survey, please contact us at 888-424-7828 or visit the NASS Website.
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USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) announced it approved changes to the Triticale crop insurance program for the 2026 and succeeding crop years. The program provides actual production history yield protection to producers who grow triticale for grain.
Beginning with the 2026 crop year, RMA will expand the program to 257 counties and will allow insureds in counties with both winter and spring sales closing dates to revise their coverage up until the spring sales closing date when there is no winter-planted acreage. Adding this flexibility ensures triticale coverage matches the existing coverage for wheat.
By allowing coverage revisions up to the spring sales closing date, we are giving producers the flexibility to secure appropriate coverage for their planted acres. Sales closing dates vary by region. Producers interested in obtaining coverage should check with a crop insurance agent to verify the sales closing date for their area.
Producers insured $13 million in covered liabilities on 69,000 acres of triticale during the 2025 crop year.
Contact a crop insurance agent to see how Federal Crop Insurance can meet the specific needs of your operation. Crop insurance is sold and delivered solely through private crop insurance agents. A list of crop insurance agents is available online at the RMA Agent Locator. Producers can learn more about crop insurance and the modern farm safety net at rma.usda.gov or by contacting their RMA Regional Office. RMA’s Basics for Beginners provides information for those new to crop insurance.
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The USDA Risk Management Agency’s (RMA) Nursery Value Select (NVS) is a pilot program that allows nursery producers to select the dollar amount of coverage that best fits their risk management needs. NVS is available in all states and counties.
Beginning with the 2026 crop year, NVS will replace the Nursery Field Grown and Container (FG&C) crop insurance program. Nursery FG&C will no longer be available for producers to purchase after the 2025 crop year.
NVS will offer comparable but improved risk management options for those who currently have coverage with the Nursery FG&C program. Like Nursery FG&C, NVS also covers field grown and containerized nursery plants and offers coverage levels between catastrophic and 75%. Unlike Nursery FG&C, NVS has simplified reporting requirements, and an Occurrence Loss Option is available.
The next sales closing date for the 2026 crop year is Sept. 1, 2025, and is available to producers in all states except those states along the Gulf Coast and East Coast (including Pennsylvania, Vermont, and West Virginia). For all other producers, the sales closing date was May 1, 2025. NVS allows producers to apply for or renew coverage after the sales closing date. Producers should contact a local crop insurance agent to learn more about NVS and how they can apply for coverage for the 2026 crop year.
Learn more about crop insurance and the modern farm safety net on the RMA website and the Basics for Beginners webpage. Producers may also contact their RMA Regional Office.
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USDA NASS conducted the August Agricultural Yield Survey the first week of August. This survey asked producers about their current yield expectations for small grains and row crops in Montana. Results from the survey will be published on August 12, 2025, in the Crop Production report.
NASS enumerators will be finishing collecting winter wheat plot samples for the NASS wheat objective yield survey, where small sample plots are laid out in selected winter wheat fields with permission from the farm operator. Monthly plant and grain counts are taken, and immediately before harvest, a final crop cutting of the sample plot is made and the grain heads are sent to a lab to determine grain weight and moisture content. Results from this survey are also included in the monthly Crop Production report.
As small grain harvest begins, NASS will be visiting grain elevators and producers to collect grain samples for the Montana Wheat and Barley Committee Wheat and Barley Quality Survey.
Thank you to Montana farmers and ranchers for taking the time to respond to NASS surveys. To find results of NASS surveys, please visit https://www.nass.usda.gov.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Rodger Ott, Regional Director, USDA NASS Mountain Regional Field Office, at 1-800-392-3202.
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Montana
USDA Farm Service Agency
PO Box 670
Bozeman, MT 59771
Phone: 406.587.6872
Fax: 855.546.0264
Web: www.fsa.usda.gov/mt
State Executive Director:
MICHAEL FOSTER
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USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
10 East Babcock Street, Room 443
Bozeman, MT 59715-4704
Phone: 406-587-6811
Fax: 855-510-7028
Web: nrcs.usda.gov/montana
Acting State Conservationist:
GAYLE BARRY
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USDA Risk Management Agency-Billings Regional Office
P.O. Box 80114
Billings, MT 59108
Phone: 406-657-6447
Fax: 406-657-6573
Email: RSOMT@usda.gov
Web:www.rma.usda.gov/rmalocal/montana
Acting Regional Director:
ALEXA TALKINGTON
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