Verify compliance plans before planting

The term “sodbusting” is used to identify the plowing up of erosion-prone grasslands for use as cropland. Sodbuster violations are unauthorized tillage practices on highly erodible lands that converted native vegetation such as rangeland or woodland, to produce commodity crops (corn, soybeans, wheat, tobacco, vegetables) after December 23, 1985.
Farmers and ranchers should be aware that if they use highly eroidible land for crop production without proper conservation measures, they risk losing eligibility to participate in FSA programs.
Before producers clear, plow or otherwise prepare areas for planting, not currently under crop production they are required to file an AD-1026, indicating the area that will be put into crop production.
If the Natural Resources Conservation Service indicates on a CPA-026 that the area will be highly erodible land, the producer will be required to develop and implement a conservation plan on the affected acreage, before bringing land into production.
In addition, producers and the producer’s affiliates have to file an AD-1026 with the staff in the administrative or control county office before any farm program payments can be made. The AD-1026 is the producer’s signed certification the Highly Erodible Land Conservation (HELC) as well as wetland conservation, provisions will not be violated.
Producers should contact the FSA Service Center or the Natural Resources Conservation Service located at 811 Faulkner Springs Road, McMinnville, to discuss and update any conservation plans already developed or to develop plans for fields that have not been in production in previous years.