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. 

Join Bob Rhea, University of Illinois Tax School, for a presentation on Depreciation Tax Law Changes for 2025 and 2026 from 2:00 – 3:30pm Eastern on February 11, 2026. He will discuss the new law that permanently restores 100% first-year depreciation for eligible assets acquired and placed in service after January 19, 2025. 

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.

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.
 

Farm Service Agency county committees are a critical component of the day-to-day operations of FSA and allow grassroots input and location administration of federal farm programs.

Elections are occurring in certain Local Administrative Areas (LAA) for these committee members who make important decisions about how federal farm programs are administered locally. Producers and landowners must return ballots to their local FSA county office or have their ballots postmarked by Feb. 2, 2026, for those ballots to be counted.

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.

USDA has established a national January 15, 2026 batching deadline for the first funding round of key conservation programs: Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP), and Agricultural Management Assistance (AMA). It also includes the Regenerative Pilot Program, which provides targeted Farmer First assistance through EQIP and CSP.