The Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) helps landowners, land trusts, and other entities protect, restore, and enhance wetlands; protect the agricultural viability and related conservation values of eligible land by limiting nonagricultural uses of that land that negatively affect the agriculture and conservation values; and protect grazing and related conservation values by restoring or conserving eligible land. 

Agricultural producers and private landowners can sign up for the Grassland Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) starting May 4, 2026, through May 29, 2026. Grassland CRP allows producers and landowners to continue grazing and haying practices while conserving grasslands and promoting plant and animal biodiversity as well as healthier soil.

Landowners and producers interested in CRP should contact their local USDA Service Center to learn more.

Join our free webinars for military veterans and transitioning service members on April 21, 2:00-4:30 pm Eastern and April 22, 2:00-4:00 pm Eastern to learn how to work with USDA and prepare for a career in agriculture.

The webinar on Wednesday April 22 will focus on Rural Development (RD) - Value-Added Producer Grants (VAPG) and Risk Management Agency (RMA) – Beginners Guide to Crop Insurance.

Join our free webinars for military veterans and transitioning service members on April 21, 2:00-4:30 pm Eastern and April 22, 2:00-4:00 pm Eastern to learn how to work with USDA and prepare for a career in agriculture.

The webinar on Tuesday April 21 will focus on Farm Service Agency (FSA) – Farm Loan Programs and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) - Regenerating Land, Empowering Veterans.

USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is accepting applications for the Farmer Bridge Assistance (FBA) program through April 17, 2026. Producers who have a secure Login.gov account can access and submit their pre-filled application online as well as track their application and payment status.

General CRP helps producers and landowners establish long-term, resource-conserving plant species, such as approved grasses or trees, to control soil erosion, improve water quality and enhance wildlife habitat on cropland. Signup runs March 9, 2026, to April 17, 2026. Interested landowners and producers should contact their local USDA Service Center to learn more or to apply.

The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) provides farmers and ranchers an income source in exchange for removing environmentally sensitive land from agricultural production in an effort to improve environmental health and quality. The first Continuous CRP batching period runs from February 12, 2026, to March 20, 2026.

DMC is a voluntary risk management program that offers protection to dairy producers when the difference between the all-milk price and the average feed price (the margin) falls below a certain dollar amount selected by the producer. Agricultural producers can submit applications to USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) for DMC for the 2026 coverage year from January 12, 2026 to February 26, 2026. 

This webinar will introduce the Predictive Soil Health Economic Calculator (P-SHEC) to planners who work with producers and landowners to provide them economically viable and sustainable alternatives. While soil health practices such as cover crops, no-till, and nutrient management are associated with improvements to water quality, drought resilience, and soil organic matter, some farmers may be reluctant to adopt new practices due to the uncertainty of potential costs of implementing a practice. To address that challenge, American Farmland Trust, in partnership with USDA NRCS, developed the P-SHEC tool to use with row crop farmers interested in adopting soil health practices. P-SHEC is a user-friendly online tool that estimates the potential long-term costs and benefits of adopting certain soil health practices, aiming to provide users with better-informed decision-making support. This tool should be used alongside conservation technical assistance and planning. This webinar is designed for producers, Technical Service Providers (TSPs), Qualified Individuals (QIs), and field office staff who are passionate about soil health management strategies and are seeking to enhance their conservation planning efforts. The webinar will take place at 12 pm ET on February 5, 2026.
 

USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service's organic surveys provide acreage, production, and sales data for a variety of organic crop and livestock commodities as well as organic marketing and agricultural practices. The 2025 Organic Survey was mailed in December 2025 and will collect new data on organic production, marketing practice, income, and expenses in the United States. The deadline to submit your survey is February 5, 2026.

The Food Safety Certification for Specialty Crops Program (FSCSC) provides financial assistance for specialty crop operations that incur eligible on-farm food safety program expenses related to obtaining or renewing a food safety certification. This program helps offset costs to comply with regulatory requirements and market-driven food safety certification requirements. The application period for calendar year 2025 is January 1, 2025, through January 31, 2026.  

The Soil Health Division has completed an update to the Conservation Evaluation and Monitoring Activity-CEMA 216, to align and support NRCS national priorities. SHD has developed the streamlined CEMA 216 Soil Health Testing, revised EQIP payment scenarios, and updated support resources in January 2026 for immediate use by producers, TSPs, and field office staff. This updated information will support the launch of the Regenerative Ag. Pilot Program. This webinar will provide updated details for CEMA 216, Soil Health Testing Scenarios, payment scenarios, and planning and implementation activities. This webinar is designed for producers, Technical Service Providers (TSPs), Qualified Individuals (QIs), and field office staff who are passionate about soil health management strategies and are seeking to enhance their conservation planning efforts. The webinar will take place at 1pm ET on January 29, 2026.

The Soil Health Division has completed the Conservation Evaluation and Monitoring Activity-CEMA 204 Adaptive Management for Soil Health, CEMA 204 is the evaluation and monitoring of soil health management strategies to inform conservation planning. This webinar will provide details and guidance for the newly created CEMA 204 Adaptive Management for Soil Health. Join us to gain valuable insights and guidance on the latest updates and tools available. This webinar is designed for producers, Technical Service Providers (TSPs), Qualified Individuals (QIs), and field office staff who are passionate about soil health management strategies and are seeking to enhance their conservation planning efforts. The webinar will take place at 11 am ET on January 28, 2026.

The On-Farm Stored Commodity Loss Program (OFSCLP) provides assistance to producers who suffered losses of eligible harvested commodities while stored in on-farm structures in 2023 and/or 2024 due to a qualifying natural disaster event. The deadline to apply is January 23, 2026.

The Milk Loss Program (MLP) provides payments to eligible dairy operations for milk that was dumped or removed without compensation from the commercial milk market because of a qualifying weather event in 2023 and/or 2024. The deadline to apply is January 23, 2026.