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Nebraska FSA and NRCS State Office
Electronic Newsletter - February 25, 2026

In This Issue:

• A Message from State Executive Director Maricle
• Producers Reminded of Application Deadline for Livestock Disaster Assistance Programs Due to 2025 Impacts
• USDA Announces Continuous and General Conservation Reserve Program Enrollment for 2026
• FSA Customers Reminded of Signature Policy
• Applying for Farm Storage Facility Loans
• Reminders for FSA Direct and Guaranteed Borrowers with Real Estate Security
• Ask The Expert: Saving America’s Grasslands Q&A with Dr. Dirac Twidwell
• Dates to Remember
• February FSA Interest Rates

A Message from State Executive Director Maricle

Producers Reminded of Application Deadline for Livestock Disaster Assistance Programs Due to 2025 Impacts

USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices are accepting 2025 applications for the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-raised Fish Program (ELAP), the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) and the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP). The deadline to apply for assistance for 2025 impacts is Monday, March 2, 2026.  

ELAP provides financial assistance to producers of livestock, honeybees and farm-raised fish to assist with the impacts of adverse weather and disease that are not covered by other FSA programs. Click here to access map of counties that triggered for ELAP in 2025.   

LFP provides financial assistance to livestock producers who suffer eligible grazing losses on land impacted by qualifying droughts or are restricted from grazing federally managed lands due to wildfire. Click here to access map of counties that triggered for LFP in 2025.

LIP provides financial assistance to producers who face livestock deaths in excess of normal mortality due to adverse weather or attacks by animals reintroduced into the wild by the federal government.  

Producers who are interested in assistance through these programs should contact their county FSA office for additional information and to apply by the March 2, 2026, application deadline.

USDA Announces Continuous and General Conservation Reserve Program Enrollment for 2026

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced the enrollment periods for agricultural producers and landowners to submit offers for the Continuous and General Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is accepting offers for Continuous CRP starting Feb. 12, 2026, through March 20, 2026. Enrollment for General CRP will run from March 9, 2026, through April 17, 2026. FSA will announce dates for Grassland CRP signup in the near future.

CRP is USDA’s flagship conservation program, providing financial and technical support to agricultural producers and landowners who place unproductive or marginal cropland under contract for 10-15 years and who agree to voluntarily convert the land to beneficial vegetative cover to improve water quality, prevent soil erosion and support wildlife habitat. The Continuing Appropriations, Agriculture, Legislative Branch, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Extensions Act, 2026, extends FSA’s authority to administer CRP through Sept. 30, 2026.  

Continuous CRP (Signup 65)  

 FSA will batch Continuous CRP offers submitted by interested agricultural producers and landowners. Offers to re-enroll expiring CRP continuous acreage will be accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis. New acreage offered in continuous CRP practices will be considered for acceptance on a first-come, first-serve basis if they support USDA conservation priorities including but not limited to practices that address water quality, such as filter strips and grass waterways, and practices that restore native ecosystems or target specific resource concerns.

The first Continuous CRP batching period ends on March 20, 2026. Offers submitted after this date will be considered for acceptance in subsequent batching periods if acreage remains available.

Continuous CRP participants voluntarily offer environmentally sensitive lands, typically smaller parcels than offered through General CRP including wetlands, riparian buffers, and varying wildlife habitats. In return, they receive annual rental payments and cost-share assistance to establish long-term, resource-conserving vegetative cover.   

Continuous CRP enrollment options include:   

• Clean Lakes, Estuaries and Rivers (CLEAR) Initiative: Prioritizes water quality practices on the land that, if enrolled, will help reduce sediment loadings, nutrient loadings, and harmful algal blooms. The vegetative covers also contribute to increased wildlife populations.    
• CLEAR30 (a component of the CLEAR Initiative): Offers additional incentives for water quality practice adoption and can be accessed in 30-year contracts.   
• Highly Erodible Land Initiative (HELI): Producers and landowners can enroll in CRP to establish long-term cover on highly erodible cropland that has a weighted erodibility index greater than or equal to 20.
• Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP): Addresses high priority conservation objectives of states and Tribal governments on agricultural lands in specific geographic areas.   
• State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement Initiative (SAFE): Restores vital habitat in order to meet high-priority state wildlife conservation goals.

General CRP (Signup 66)  

General CRP offers are submitted through a competitive bid process. After the enrollment period closes, General CRP offers are ranked and scored by FSA, using nationally established environmental benefits criteria. USDA will announce accepted offers once ranking and scoring for all offers is completed. In addition to annual rental payments, approved General CRP participants may also be eligible for cost-share assistance to establish long-term, resource-conserving vegetative cover.

Producers and landowners interested in participating in CRP should contact their local FSA county office.

FSA Customers Reminded of Signature Policy

Using the correct signature when doing business with FSA can save time and prevent a delay in program benefits.

The following are FSA signature guidelines.  

Married individuals must sign their given name. Example: Mary Doe and John Doe are married. When signing FSA forms, each must use their given name, and may not sign with the name of their spouse. Mrs. Mary Doe may not sign documents as Mrs. John Doe.

For farm loan purposes, spouses may not sign on behalf of the other as an authorized signatory. A signature will be needed for each.

For a minor, FSA requires the minor's signature and one from the minor’s parent. There are certain exceptions where a minor’s signature may be accepted without obtaining the signature of one of the parents. Despite minority status, a youth executing a promissory note for a Youth Loan will incur full personal liability for the debt and will sign individually. Note: By signing a document with a minor, the parent is liable for actions of the minor and may be liable for refunds, liquidated damages, or other penalties, etc. 

When signing on one’s behalf the signature must agree with the name typed or printed on the form or be a variation that does not cause the name and signature to be in disagreement. Example: John W. Smith is on the form. The signature may be John W. Smith or J.W. Smith or J. Smith or Mary J. Smith may be signed as Mrs. Mary Joe Smith, M.J. Smith, Mary Smith, etc.  

FAXED signatures will be accepted for certain forms and other documents provided the acceptable program forms are approved for FAXED signatures. Producers are responsible for the successful transmission and receipt of FAXED information.  

Examples of documents not approved for FAXED signatures include:  

• Promissory note 
• Assignment of payment 
• Joint payment authorization 
• Acknowledgement of commodity certificate purchase 

Spouses may sign documents on behalf of each other for FSA and CCC programs in which either spouse has an interest, unless written notification denying a spouse this authority has been provided to the county office.  

Spouses cannot sign on behalf of each other as an authorized signatory for partnerships, joint ventures, corporations or other similar entities.  Likewise, a spouse cannot sign a document on behalf of the other in order to affirm the eligibility of oneself.  

Any member of a general partnership can sign on behalf of the general partnership and bind all members unless the Articles of Partnership are more restrictive. Spouses may sign on behalf of each other’s individual interest in a partnership, unless notification denying a spouse that authority is provided to the county office. Acceptable signatures for general partnerships, joint ventures, corporations, estates, and trusts must consist of an indicator “by” or “for” the individual’s name, individual’s name and capacity, or individual’s name, capacity, and name of entity. 

Applying for Farm Storage Facility Loans

The Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) Farm Storage Facility Loan (FSFL) program provides low-interest financing to help you build or upgrade storage facilities and to purchase portable (new or used) structures, equipment and storage and handling trucks. 

Eligible commodities include corn, grain sorghum, rice, soybeans, oats, peanuts, wheat, barley, minor oilseeds harvested as whole grain, pulse crops (lentils, chickpeas and dry peas), hay, honey, renewable biomass, fruits, nuts and vegetables for cold storage facilities, controlled atmosphere storage, floriculture, hops, malted small grains, maple sap, maple syrup, rye, milk, cheese, butter, yogurt, meat and poultry (unprocessed), eggs, and aquaculture (excluding systems that maintain live animals through uptake and discharge of water). Qualified facilities include grain bins, hay barns and cold storage facilities for eligible commodities.   

Loans up to $50,000 can be secured by a promissory note/security agreement, loans between $50,000 and $100,000 may require additional security, and loans exceeding $100,000 require additional security. 

You do not need to demonstrate the lack of commercial credit availability to apply. The loans are designed to assist a diverse range of farming operations, including small and mid-sized businesses, new farmers, operations supplying local food and farmers markets, non-traditional farm products, and underserved producers. 

For more information, contact your FSA farm loan team or visit this Farm Storage Facility Loan page.

Reminders for FSA Direct and Guaranteed Borrowers with Real Estate Security

Farm loan borrowers who have pledged real estate as security for their Farm Service Agency (FSA) direct or guaranteed loans are responsible for maintaining loan collateral. Borrowers must obtain prior consent or approval from FSA or the guaranteed lender for any transaction that affects real estate security. These transactions include, but are not limited to:

• Leases of any kind
• Easements of any kind
• Subordinations
• Partial releases
• Sales

Failure to meet or follow the requirements in the loan agreement, promissory note, and other security instruments could lead to nonmonetary default which could jeopardize your current and future loans.

It is critical that borrowers keep an open line of communication with their FSA loan staff or guaranteed lender when it comes to changes in their operation. For more information on borrower responsibilities, contact your FSA farm loan team.

Ask The Expert: Saving America’s Grasslands Q&A with Dr. Dirac Twidwell

In this Ask the Expert, Dr. Dirac Twidwell, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Working Lands for Wildlife (WLFW) Science Advisor and Associate Professor at the University of Nebraska outlines how landowners can work together to protect and conserve grasslands through conservation. Dr. Twidwell is responsible for conserving grasslands on the Great Plains through science-backed efforts that span ownership boundaries. His research and publications have identified the largest remaining continuous grasslands in the United States and have outlined a ‘call to action’ to protect and preserve these invaluable biomes. He also runs the Large-Scale Rangeland Conservation Lab at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, which focuses on providing a framework for ecosystem management across multiple states. Dr. Twidwell recently co-authored Reducing Woody Encroachment in Grasslands: A Guide for Understanding Risk and Vulnerability that provides the first-ever framework for addressing woody encroachment in the Great Plains. To read the full blog visit farmers.gov/blog/ask-expert-saving-americas-grasslands-qa-with-dr-dirac-twidwell.

Dates to Remember

Feb. 26, 2026 – FSA deadline for producers to enroll in Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) Program for 2026
March 2, 2026 – FSA deadline for applications for Livestock Forage Disaster Assistance Program (LFP), Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-raised Fish Program (ELAP), and Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) benefits for 2025 losses
March 9, 2026 – FSA contract offer period opens for Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) General Signup 66
March 16, 2026 – ***FSA application closing date for Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) coverage for 2026 production season for most annual fruits and vegetables, millet, oats, forage sorghum, dry peas, hemp
March 20, 2026 – FSA deadline for first batching period for Continuous CRP Signup 65 contract offers
April 17, 2026 - FSA deadline for Farmer Bridge Assistance (FBA) program applications
April 17, 2026 – FSA deadline for CRP General Signup 66 contract offers
April 30, 2026 – FSA deadline for applications to the Supplemental Disaster Relief Program, Stages 1 and 2

***Please note any above NAP calendar reference may not be inclusive for all NAP-covered crops; NAP participants should contact their County FSA Office to confirm important program deadlines.

February FSA Interest Rates

OPERATING/OWNERSHIP 
Farm Operating: 4.625% 
Farm Ownership: 5.750% 
Farm Ownership - Joint Financing: 3.750% 
Farm Ownership - Down Payment: 1.750% 
Emergency - Actual Loss: 3.75%   

FARM STORAGE FACILITY LOAN
3-year term: 3.625% 
5-year term: 3.75%
7-year term: 4% 
10-year term: 4.125% 
12-year term: 4.375%   

MARKETING ASSISTANCE 
Commodity Loan: 4.5% 

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