A new online resource is available to farmers with expiring Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contracts and beginning farmers interested in obtaining land.
TIP Net is a website sponsored by the USDA Farm Service Agency designed to assist those who are interested in the Transition Incentives Program (TIP). The site serves as a matchmaker to link farmers with expiring CRP contracts to beginning farmers and ranchers who are interested in bringing the land into production.
“The interest in TIP during the first six months of implementation has far exceeded our expectations,” said Vilsack. “This tool should make TIP even more effective in facilitating the transition of land to our next generation of farmers.”
To qualify for TIP, retired or retiring CRP landowners must sell or lease the land to a beginning or socially disadvantaged farmer or rancher so the new operator can convert some or all of the land to production using sustainable grazing or crop production methods.TIP provides up to two additional Conservation Reserve Program annual rental payments to the landowner or operator with an expiring CRP contract.
As of Nov. 30, there were 372 TIP contracts on more than 52,000 acres with nearly $5 million obligated for TIP annual rental payments.
Additional information on FSA farm loan programs is available online at www.fsa.usda.gov or from any FSA office. TIP Net can be found online at http://www.fsa.usda.gov/tipnet.
