Indiana FSA State Newsletter - March 18, 2026
In This Edition of the Indiana FSA State Newsletter:
Greetings!
Wow how time flies, spring is almost here. Spring brings the start of another planting season. I see many producers getting corn and soybeans planters ready as I travel around the state. As we move forward, the hope is for good yields and improving market prices.
While reading the articles in this newsletter, there are several bright spots to pay attention to. One of those is the Farmer Bridge Assistance (FBA) program payments, which started the last week of February. FBA provides $11 billion in one-time bridge payments to eligible row crop producers in response to temporary trade market disruptions and increased production costs. To date, we have issued nearly 314 million in FBA assistance to eligible producers in Indiana.
The farm economy is top priority for the Trump Administration and we have simplified the application process for FBA to ensure producers get the financial assistance they need. April 17 is the deadline to submit applications for FBA. Putting Farmers First means providing economic relief now while the Trump Administration continues opening new markets and strengthening the farm safety net.
Adding another deadline reminder. Applications for both stages 1 and 2 of the Supplemental Disaster Relief Program are due to FSA by April 30, 2026.
I want to encourage producers to read about all the programs the Indiana Farm Service Agency offers. We don’t want you to miss any opportunity to receive a benefit you are entitled to. If you have questions, please call or make an appointment to visit one of our county offices.
Have a great start to planting season, be safe, and thanks for your work you do each day to serve the American people.
Steve E Brown
Indiana State Executive Director
USDA 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 from 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:
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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.
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CLEAR30 (a component of the CLEAR Initiative): Offers additional incentives for water quality practice adoption and can be accessed in 30-year contracts.
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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.
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Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP): Addresses high priority conservation objectives of states and Tribal governments on agricultural lands in specific geographic areas.
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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.
If you’re interested in participating in CRP, contact your local FSA county office.
NAP provides financial assistance to you for crops that aren’t eligible for crop insurance to protect against lower yields or crops unable to be planted due to natural disasters including freeze, hail, excessive moisture, excessive wind or hurricanes, flood, excessive heat and qualifying drought (includes native grass for grazing), among others.
To receive payment, you had to purchase NAP coverage for 2026 crops and file a notice of loss the earlier of 15 days of the occurrence of the disaster or when losses become apparent or 15 days of the final harvest date. For hand-harvested crops and certain perishable crops, you must notify FSA within 72 hours of when a loss becomes apparent.
Eligible crops must be commercially produced agricultural commodities for which crop insurance is not available, including perennial grass forage and grazing crops, fruits, vegetables, mushrooms, floriculture, ornamental nursery, aquaculture, turf grass, ginseng, honey, syrup, bioenergy, and industrial crops.
For more information on NAP, contact your FSA County office.
Farm Service Agency (FSA) loans require applicants to have a satisfactory credit history. A credit report is requested for all FSA direct farm loan applicants. These reports are reviewed to verify outstanding debts, see if bills are paid timely and to determine the impact on cash flow.
Information on your credit report is strictly confidential and is used only as an aid in conducting FSA business.
Our farm loan staff will discuss options with you if you have an unfavorable credit report and will provide a copy of your report. If you dispute the accuracy of the information on the credit report, it is up to you to contact the issuing credit report company to resolve any errors or inaccuracies.
There are multiple ways to remedy an unfavorable credit score:
- Make sure to pay bills on time
- Setting up automatic payments or automated reminders can be an effective way to remember payment due dates.
- Pay down existing debt
- Keep your credit card balances low
- Avoid suddenly opening or closing existing credit accounts
FSA’s farm loan staff will guide you through the process, which may require you to reapply for a loan after improving or correcting your credit report.
For more information on FSA farm loan programs, contact your FSA County FSA office.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is bolstering support for farmers facing crop setbacks by announcing an increase in replant payments for most producers beginning with the 2026 crop year. This initiative aims to provide financial assistance to farmers who need to replant insured crops damaged by early insurable causes of loss.
Replant payment factors have not been updated since they were established in the 1990s. RMA reviewed replant payment factors to ensure they reflect current replanting costs. The agency determined most small grains and coarse grains crops will receive a significant increase. RMA will consider future updates based on new data, further analysis, and stakeholder feedback from these changes.
RMA plans to announce the new replant payments with additional crop insurance improvements in the summer of 2025.
Crop insurance is sold and delivered solely through private crop insurance agents. A list of crop insurance agents is available at all USDA Service Centers and 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.
The Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) is sometimes misunderstood. It is perceived by some as complicated or not for small operations, and neither of those perceptions is true. CSP is designed to help you take your existing conservation efforts on your operation to the next higher level while maintaining your current ones. It’s supposed to help you add to what you’re already doing, either by enhancing your current practices or adding new ones.
The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) works one-on-one with you to develop a conservation plan under CSP to implement these additions or enhancements and help strengthen your operation.
Under CSP, you receive annual payments to help you maintain your existing conservation efforts and enhance them using new conservation practices or activities. CSP contracts last five years, with the opportunity to compete for a contract renewal if you successfully fulfill the initial contract and agree to achieve additional conservation objectives.
CSP is often misunderstood, so here are a few “myths” about the program that we want to dispel.
Myth #1: The deadline to apply for CSP in my state has already passed, so I don’t need to think about applying until next year.
Don’t wait to apply! We accept applications year-round, but funding decisions are made locally at specific times and that “ranking date” may be coming up soon in your area. If we already have your application, it will be considered at the next ranking date. Plus, if you start planning now, you will be ready for application ranking dates as they approach. See program application ranking dates for all states at https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/ranking-dates.
Myth #2: Enrolling land in CSP is complicated and time-consuming.
If you have a farm and tract number (available from USDA’s Farm Service Agency) and have kept good farm records, you’re already well on your way. You just need to complete a three-page NRCS-CPA-1200 form, see Applications and Forms. You can even complete this form online if you create a farmers.gov account at https://www.farmers.gov/account.
Read more myths.
Marketing Assistance Loans (MALs) and Loan Deficiency Payments (LDPs) provide financing and marketing assistance for wheat, feed grains, soybeans, and other oilseeds, pulse crops, rice, peanuts, cotton, wool and honey. MALs provide you with interim financing after harvest to help you meet cash flow needs without having to sell your commodities when market prices are typically at harvest-time lows. A producer who is eligible to obtain a loan, but agrees to forgo the loan, may obtain an LDP if such a payment is available. Marketing loan provisions and LDPs are not available for sugar and extra-long staple cotton.
FSA is now accepting requests for 2025 MALs and LDPs for all eligible commodities after harvest. Requests for loans and LDPs shall be made on or before the final availability date for the respective commodities.
Commodity certificates are available to loan holders who have outstanding nonrecourse loans for wheat, upland cotton, rice, feed grains, pulse crops (dry peas, lentils, large and small chickpeas), peanuts, wool, soybeans and designated minor oilseeds. These certificates can be purchased at the posted county price (or adjusted world price or national posted price) for the quantity of commodity under loan, and must be immediately exchanged for the collateral, satisfying the loan. MALs redeemed with commodity certificates are not subject to Adjusted Gross Income provisions.
To be considered eligible for an LDP, you must have form CCC-633EZ, Page 1 on file at your local FSA Office before losing beneficial interest in the crop. Pages 2, 3 or 4 of the form must be submitted when payment is requested.
Marketing loan gains (MLGs) and loan deficiency payments (LDPs) are no longer subject to payment limitations, actively engaged in farming and cash-rent tenant rules.
Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) provisions state that if your total applicable three-year average AGI exceeds $900,000, then you’re not eligible to receive an MLG or LDP. You must have a valid CCC-941 on file to earn a market gain of LDP. The AGI does not apply to MALs redeemed with commodity certificate exchange.
For more information and additional eligibility requirements, contact your FSA County office.
The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is a program administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA) to conserve farmland for future generations while providing habitat for wildlife, reducing soil erosion, and improving water quality. Regular maintenance on CRP acres is needed to ensure the acreage continues to provide conservation benefits and remains in compliance with the CRP contract.
Regular Maintenance
Producers with CRP contracts are required to control all weeds, insects, pests, and other undesirable species to the extent necessary to ensure that the approved conservation cover is adequately protected and to ensure there is no adverse impact on surrounding land. Mowing is one of the allowable practices for weed control, but mowing for aesthetic purposes is never permitted. The Conservation Plan states the required weed control methods for each site.
Once a stand has been certified as fully established, participants are required to maintain plant diversity and stand density according to the Conservation Plan and offer (CRP-2) for the life of the contract. Stands that do not meet practice specific plant diversity or density requirements may be considered non-compliant. Refer to your conservation plan or contact FSA if you have any questions or concerns about the vegetative cover requirements.
Maintenance activities cannot occur during the primary nesting season for birds without written prior approval from the local county office. The primary nesting season in Indiana is April 1 through August 1.
Mid-Contract Management
Regular maintenance for weed and pest control is separate from the Mid-Contract Management (MCM) requirement. MCM ensures plant diversity and wildlife benefits while ensuring protection of the soil and water resources. Such activities are site-specific and are for the purpose of enhancing the approved cover.
MCM must be completed between years four and six of a 10-year contract and between years seven and nine of a 15-year contract. The Conservation Plan will state what year MCM must take place.
Noncompliance with Maintenance Requirements
Failure to adequately maintain the stand may result in noncompliance with the terms and conditions of the CRP contract. Noncompliance can result in adverse actions up to and including termination of the CRP contract. Contracts that are out of compliance are ineligible to re-enroll, unless the stand is brought back into compliance prior to the enrollment deadline.
For general information about CRP, visit the Conservation Reserve Program webpage. For information about specific contracts, reach out to the local FSA office.
Free basic coverage available for new and underserved loan applicants
Producers who apply for Farm Service Agency (FSA) farm loans will be offered the opportunity to enroll in the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP). NAP is available to producers who grow non-insurable crops and is especially important to fruit, vegetable, and other specialty crop growers. New, underserved and limited income specialty growers who apply for farm loans could qualify for basic loss coverage at no cost.
The basic disaster coverage protects at 55 percent of the market price for crop losses that exceed 50 percent of production. Covered “specialty” crops include vegetables, fruits, mushrooms, floriculture, ornamental nursery, aquaculture, turf grass, ginseng, honey, syrup, hay, forage, grazing and energy crops. FSA allows beginning, underserved or limited income producers to obtain NAP coverage up to 90 days after the normal application closing date when they also apply for FSA credit.
Producers can also protect value-added production, such as organic or direct market crops, at their fair market value in those markets. Targeted underserved groups eligible for free or discounted coverage include American Indians or Alaskan Natives, Asians, Blacks or African Americans, Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders, Hispanics, and women.
FSA offers a variety of loan products, including farm ownership loans, operating loans and microloans that have a streamlined application process.
NAP coverage is not limited to FSA borrowers, beginning, limited resource, or underserved farmers. Any producer who grows eligible NAP crops can purchase coverage. To learn more, contact your FSA County office or visit fsa.usda.gov/nap or fsa.usda.gov/farmloans.
Landowners and operators are reminded that in order to receive payments from USDA, compliance with Highly Erodible Land (HEL) and Wetland Conservation (WC) provisions are required. Farmers with HEL determined soils are reminded of tillage, crop residue, and rotation requirements as specified per their conservation plan. Producers are to notify the USDA Farm Service Agency prior to breaking sod, clearing land (tree removal), and of any drainage projects (tiling, ditching, etc.) to ensure compliance. Failure to update certification of compliance, with form AD-1026, triggering applicable HEL and/or wetland determinations, for any of these situations, can result in the loss of FSA farm program payments, FSA farm loans, NRCS program payments, and premium subsidy to Federal Crop Insurance administered by RMA.
USDA worked with the Conservation Biology Institute (CBI) to design and build a free online easy-to-use Seed and Vendor finder tool to support the producers enrolling in the CRP program, along with other conservation efforts involving native plantings. CBI also partnered with the Institute for Applied Ecology (IAE) to address the needs of the Native Seed Network and significantly expanded the native seed customer and vendor base.
The seed and vendor finder can be found here: Seed and Vendor Finder
Customers looking for native or introduced species to plant for the conservation projects can easily find vendors across the country that carry that seed or plant using this tool. Currently, CBI has seeded the tool with 600+ wholesale seed and seedling vendors found through an online search from across the country with limited profiles, and 100+ have voluntarily completed full profiles which includes their plant catalogue. The tool is designed for easy uploading of their profile and inventory. It also provides an opportunity for vendors without a website to have an online presence and be found by customers looking for seeds.
Also check out the plant finder tool where you can find suitable plants, including pollinator friendly plants for your area and soil type. The plant finder prototype is only available for 6 states and there is potential to extend it to the entire country.
There were over 10,000 visitors to the site last year, with the current number of unique daily visitors to the tool at over 30 and growing!
All growers/vendors are encouraged to add their business profile and catalog to the tool. They can do this easily by filling out a simple form located here: https://crptool.org/contact/. Once their catalog is online, customers can match their seed/seedlings needs with what they might have available for sale and contact you. This USDA supported tool expands customer outreach to the entire U.S.
Farm Operating Loans, Direct -- 4.750%
Farm Ownership Loans, Direct -- 5.875%
Limited Resource Loans -- 5.000%
Farm Ownership Loans, Down Payment -- 1.875%
Farm Ownership – Joint Financing -- 3.875%
Emergency Loans -- 3.750%
Farm Storage Facility Loan, 3 year -- 3.625%
Farm Storage Facility Loan, 5 year -- 3.750%
Farm Storage Facility Loan, 7 year -- 4.000%
Farm Storage Facility Loan, 10 year -- 4.250%
Farm Storage Facility Loan, 12 year -- 4.375%
Sugar Storage Facility Loans, 15 year -- 4.625%
Commodity Loans -- 4.500%
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March 9
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Enrollment begins for General CRP and runs through April 17, 2026.
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March 16
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Deadline to obtain 2026 NAP coverage on annual spring/summer planted crops.
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March 20
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The first Continuous CRP batching period ends.
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March 31
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Deadline Final Date to Obtain Loans or Loan Deficiency Payments (LDP’s) on 2025 Harvested Small Grains.
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April 1
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Primary Nesting Season Begins.
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April 17
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Deadline to apply for the Farmer Bridge Assistance (FBA) Program.
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April 17
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General CRP signup ends.
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April 30
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Supplemental Disaster Relief Program Stage 1 and Stage 2 Deadline.
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May 25
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Memorial Day Holiday. USDA Service Centers Closed.
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Ongoing
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Submit an Application for a Farm Storage Facility Loan.
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Continuous
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Submit an Application for FSA Farm Loans.
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Continuous
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Sign up for GovDelivery Newsletters, Bulletins and Indiana Press Releases (Subscribe to USDA Emails for Farmers | Farmers.gov)
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