Table of Contents
- Important Dates and Reminders
- Farm Service Agency Opens Second Batching Period for Continuous CRP
- Maps for Acreage Reporting Are Available
- Getting Acreage Reporting Right
- The Conservation Plan – A Solid Foundation for NRCS Work
- Applying for FSA Direct Loans
Important Dates and Reminders
Reminders for the Farm Service Agency
- April 17: Deadline to submit completed Farmer Bridge Assistance (FBA) program applications.
- April 17: Last day to submit an offer for General Conservation Reserve Program (CRP).
- April 24: Deadline to report 2025 acres to FSA for ASCF purposes
- April 30: The deadline to apply for Stage 1 and 2 of the Supplemental Disaster Relief Program (SDRP).
- May 1: Deadline to apply for CRP Continuous Second Batching
- July 15: Crop Acreage Reporting deadline for most other crops.
Update Your Records
FSA is cleaning up our producer record database and needs your help. Please report any changes of address, zip code, phone number, email address or an incorrect name or business name on file to our office. You should also report changes in your farm operation, like the addition of a farm by lease or purchase. You should also report any changes to your operation in which you reorganize to form a Trust, LLC or other legal entity.
FSA and NRCS program participants are required to promptly report changes in their farming operation to the County Committee in writing and to update their Farm Operating Plan on form CCC-902.
To update your records, contact your Madison Parish USDA Service Center at 318-574-4158.
Farm Service Agency Opens Second Batching Period for Continuous CRP
The first Continuous CRP batching period closed on March 20, 2026. Since acreage remains available, FSA is opening a second batching period and will consider Continuous CRP offers submitted by interested agricultural producers and landowners between March 23, 2026, and May 1, 2026. Offers to re-enroll expiring CRP continuous acreage will be accepted on a first-come, first-served 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.
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.
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.
Maps for Acreage Reporting Are Available
Maps are now available at the Madison Parish FSA Office for acreage reporting purposes. If you wish to receive your maps by e-mail, please call our office or email theadora.miller@usda.gov. Please see the following acreage reporting deadlines for Madison Parish:
- JULY 15, 2026: CORN
- JULY 15, 2026: COTTON
- JULY 15, 2026: GRAIN SORGHUM
- JULY 15, 2026: RICE
- JULY 15, 2026: SOYBEANS
In order to maintain program eligibility and benefits, you must file timely acreage reports. Failure to file an acreage report by the crop acreage reporting deadline may cause ineligibility for future program benefits. FSA will not accept acreage reports provided more than a year after the acreage reporting deadline.
Producers are encouraged to file their acreage reports as soon as planting is completed.
Getting Acreage Reporting Right
You have a lot at stake in making sure your crop insurance acreage reporting is accurate and on time. If you fail to report on time, you may not be protected. If you report too much acreage, you may pay too much premium. If you report too little acreage, you may recover less when you file a claim.
Crop insurance agents often say that mistakes in acreage reporting are the easiest way for producers to have an unsatisfactory experience with crop insurance. Don’t depend on your agent to do this important job for you. Your signature on the bottom of the acreage reporting form makes it, legally, your responsibility. Double-check it for yourself.
Remember - acreage reporting is your responsibility. Doing it right will save you money. Always get a copy of your report immediately after signing and filing it with your agent and keep it with your records. Remember, it is your responsibility to report crop damage to your agent within 72 hours of discovery. Never put damaged acreage to another use without prior written consent of the insurance adjuster. You don’t want to destroy any evidence of a possible claim. Learn more by visiting RMA’s website.
The Conservation Plan – A Solid Foundation for NRCS Work
A key part of NRCS’s 90-year history was the establishment of the conservation planning process by Hugh Hammond Bennett. Bennett was the agency’s first chief and is considered the “father of soil conservation.” He believed in considering each farm’s unique conditions when developing a conservation plan.
A conservation plan is a document outlining the strategies and actions that should be taken to protect and manage natural resources on a specific area of land. It serves as a blueprint for achieving conservation goals. To develop a conservation plan, a conservation planner and the customer (farmer, rancher or landowner) collaborate during the conservation planning process.
Bennett believed that agency employees must walk the land with the customer and see their natural resource challenges and opportunities firsthand. Bennett also understood that natural resource concerns could not be treated in isolation; soil, water, air, plants, animals, and humans are all part of an integrated system that is inter-dependent. Learn more about how conservation planning has evolved over the years.
Applying for FSA Direct Loans
Farm Service Agency (FSA) is committed to providing our farm loan borrowers the tools necessary to be successful. FSA staff will provide guidance and counsel from the loan application process through the borrower’s graduation to commercial credit. While it is FSA’s commitment to advise borrowers as they identify goals and evaluate progress, it is crucial for borrowers to communicate with their farm loan staff when changes occur. It is the borrower’s responsibility to alert FSA to any of the following:
- Any proposed or significant changes in the farming operation
- Any significant changes to family income or expenses
- The development of problem situations
- Any losses or proposed significant changes in security
If a farm loan borrower can’t make payments to suppliers, other creditors, or FSA on time, contact your farm loan staff immediately to discuss loan servicing options.
For more information on FSA farm loan programs, contact your Franklin USDA Service Center at 318-435-9424 or visit fsa.usda.gov.
Contact Information
Madison USDA Service Center
1900 Crothers Drive
Tallulah, LA 71282
Phone: 318-574-4158
Fax: 833-828-0190
Acting County Executive Director
Donna Burns
318-574-4158 ext. 2
donna.burns@usda.gov
Farm Loan Officer
Yolanda Wilson
318-435-9424
yolanda.wilson@usda.gov
County Committee Members:
Jacob Ezell, Chairperson
Wade Hargrave, Vice Chairperson
Cole Norris, Member
Meetings: County Committee Meetings are scheduled on the 3rd Thursday of each month beginning at 8:30 a.m.
District Conservationist
Anthony Bridgewater
318-574-4158 ext. 3
anthony.bridgewater@usda.gov
Soil and Water Conservation District Committee Members:
Edward Yerger, Chairperson
Josh Copes, Vice Chairperson
Lance Marsh, Member
Rob Carter Moberley, Member
Jack M. Varner III, Member
Meetings: SWCD Meetings are scheduled on the 3rd Monday of each month beginning at 9:00 a.m.
Meetings are subject to change or cancelation. If you plan to attend a meeting, please call ahead to confirm the date and time.
Please contact Donna Burns for FSA at 318-574-4158 x2 or donna.burns@usda.gov or Anthony Bridgewater for NRCS at 318-574-4158 x3 or anthony.bridgewater@usda.gov in advance to request any needed accommodations (e.g., an interpreter, translator, seating arrangements, etc.) or materials in an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape-captioning, etc.).
