diff --git a/examples/configuration/README.md b/examples/configuration/README.md
index 3836185a..e6901571 100644
--- a/examples/configuration/README.md
+++ b/examples/configuration/README.md
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ Create a file called `config.yaml` in `/etc/rancher/agent` with the contents lik
 workDirectory: /var/lib/rancher/agent/work
 localPlanDirectory: /var/lib/rancher/agent/plans
 remoteEnabled: true
+remoteSkipAlreadyApplied: false
 connectionInfoFile: /etc/rancher/agent/conninfo.yaml
 preserveWorkDirectory: true
 ```
@@ -49,4 +50,4 @@ data:
   plan: e2luc3RydWN0aW9uczpbbmFtZTppbnN0YWxsLWszc119IHtpbnN0cnVjdGlvbnM6W2ltYWdlOmRvY2tlci5pby9yYW5jaGVyL3N5c3RlbS1hZ2VudC1pbnN0YWxsZXItazNzOnYxLjIxLjAtazNzMV19Cg==
 ```
 
-The above secret is going to install K3s.
\ No newline at end of file
+The above secret is going to install K3s.
diff --git a/main.go b/main.go
index 544b1b1b..1a7a6af5 100644
--- a/main.go
+++ b/main.go
@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ func run(c *cli.Context) error {
 			return fmt.Errorf("unable to parse connection info file: %w", err)
 		}
 
-		k8splan.Watch(topContext, *applyinator, connInfo)
+		k8splan.Watch(topContext, *applyinator, connInfo, cf.RemoteSkipAlreadyApplied)
 	}
 
 	if cf.LocalEnabled {
diff --git a/pkg/config/config.go b/pkg/config/config.go
index a04e1778..a97e9c55 100644
--- a/pkg/config/config.go
+++ b/pkg/config/config.go
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ type AgentConfig struct {
 	LocalPlanDir                  string `json:"localPlanDirectory,omitempty"`
 	AppliedPlanDir                string `json:"appliedPlanDirectory,omitempty"`
 	RemoteEnabled                 bool   `json:"remoteEnabled,omitempty"`
+	RemoteSkipAlreadyApplied      bool   `json:"remoteSkipAlreadyApplied,omitempty"`
 	ConnectionInfoFile            string `json:"connectionInfoFile,omitempty"`
 	PreserveWorkDir               bool   `json:"preserveWorkDirectory,omitempty"`
 	ImagesDir                     string `json:"imagesDirectory,omitempty"`
diff --git a/pkg/k8splan/watcher.go b/pkg/k8splan/watcher.go
index 68fb84db..bdaa8327 100644
--- a/pkg/k8splan/watcher.go
+++ b/pkg/k8splan/watcher.go
@@ -54,10 +54,11 @@ const (
 	cooldownTimerDuration    = "30s"
 )
 
-func Watch(ctx context.Context, applyinator applyinator.Applyinator, connInfo config.ConnectionInfo) {
+func Watch(ctx context.Context, applyinator applyinator.Applyinator, connInfo config.ConnectionInfo, skipAlreadyApplied bool) {
 	w := &watcher{
-		connInfo:    connInfo,
-		applyinator: applyinator,
+		connInfo:           connInfo,
+		applyinator:        applyinator,
+		skipAlreadyApplied: skipAlreadyApplied,
 	}
 
 	go w.start(ctx)
@@ -68,6 +69,7 @@ type watcher struct {
 	applyinator                applyinator.Applyinator
 	lastAppliedResourceVersion string
 	secretUID                  string
+	skipAlreadyApplied         bool
 }
 
 func toInt(resourceVersion string) int {
@@ -198,12 +200,14 @@ func (w *watcher) start(ctx context.Context) {
 			}
 			logrus.Tracef("[K8s] Calculated checksum to be %s", cp.Checksum)
 
+			alreadyApplied := false
 			if secretChecksumData, ok := secret.Data[appliedChecksumKey]; ok {
 				secretChecksum := string(secretChecksumData)
 				logrus.Tracef("[K8s] Remote plan had an applied checksum value of %s", secretChecksum)
 				if secretChecksum == cp.Checksum {
 					logrus.Debugf("[K8s] Applied checksum was the same as the plan from remote. Not applying.")
 					needsApplied = false
+					alreadyApplied = true
 				}
 			}
 
@@ -213,6 +217,11 @@ func (w *watcher) start(ctx context.Context) {
 				hasRunOnce = true
 			}
 
+			if w.skipAlreadyApplied && alreadyApplied {
+				logrus.Debugf("[K8s] Skipping already applied plan.")
+				needsApplied = false
+			}
+
 			// Check to see if we've exceeded our failure count threshold
 			var maxFailureThreshold int
 			if rawMaxFailureThreshold, ok := secret.Data[maxFailuresKey]; ok && len(rawMaxFailureThreshold) > 0 {