April 2013

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Logan County FSA Updates

DEAR PRODUCERS:  

The 2013 planting season is nearly here.  Please take care of the required paperwork in our office before field work begins and time starts slipping away.  DCP/ACRE signup is underway and contracts are ready to sign.  No appointment is necessary so please stop in. 

Also, just a reminder that even though you are receiving this email, many producers around the county are not.  As you gather information and contact landlords please encourage them to provide their email to our office or sign up for GovDelivery at https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/USFSA/subscriber/new.  As an agency we no longer have funding to mail hardcopy newsletters, thus correspondence must be done through email.  Please feel free to forward this email on to your landlords, operators or anyone else who would benefit from this information.

Everyone have a safe 2013 spring season.

John Peters - Logan County FSA

CONSERVATION RESERVE PROGRAM (CRP) COMPLIANCE AND MAINTENANCE REMINDERS

Producers receiving a share of CRP annual payments are reminded of several compliance and maintenance actions to follow to comply with the terms and provisions of their CRP contracts. They are briefly listed here; however, in all cases, contact your servicing FSA county office to ensure any planned actions are within the allowable action of your contract and approved conservation plan of operation (CPO). Participants must:

• comply with the terms of the approved conservation plan of operation for the CRP acreage; if you don’t have a copy of your plan, you may obtain it from the county office where the records are kept;

• not harvest, sell, or otherwise make commercial use of trees, forage, or other cover on the CRP acreage including the shaping of trees for future use as Christmas trees (however, and subject to prior COC approval, CRP participants may make commercial use of forest refuse resulting from customary forestry activities included in the CPO such as pruning, thinning, or timber stand improvement);

• not plant an unauthorized crop, such as an agricultural commodity, on CRP acreage;

• not disturb the acreage during the primary nesting and brood rearing season for wildlife; in Illinois this is April 15 through August 1, this is also the period where mowing is not allowed unless prior approval is granted for spot control of certain noxious weeds;

• not hay or graze CRP acreage without prior FSA approval from the servicing county office; also, haying or grazing will only be authorized from August 2 through September 30 but is generally only authorized on the same acreage once in three years, has a 25% payment reduction assessed, and is not allowed on all CRP practices (i.e. waterways and filter strips may not be hayed or grazed);

• perform periodic management activities as described in the conservation plan of operation; as these activities are planned at the time of contract enrollment for future implementation, conditions outside the participants’ control- such as adverse weather conditions or favorable weather conditions- could cause these activities to be needed sooner (adverse weather) or not needed at all (favorable weather); for plan changes contact FSA or the servicing Natural Resources Conservation Service office;

• notify FSA immediately should control or shares of CRP contracts change; this could be the result of a land sale, death of participant, change in ownership structure such as from an individual to a trust, etc.

Some activities are allowed on CRP acreage as long as they don’t otherwise defeat the purposes of the CRP contract. An example of a permissible activity would be hunting if it does not disturb the CRP ground. An example of an activity not permitted would be operating an ATV park or other recreational activity.

Another common compliance problem would be constructing a house on CRP acreage; this would be a contract violation that would result in contract termination and require refunds of payments received plus interest and liquidated damage assessments—if you plan to build on or otherwise alter acreage that is enrolled in CRP, contact your FSA office to remove that portion of the land and repay money on only that part prior to breaking ground on the CRP acreage.

For additional advice on what is and is not permitted, please contact your servicing FSA Office.

*NEW* Microloan Program

The Farm Service Agency (FSA) developed the Microloan (ML) program to better serve the unique financial operating needs of beginning, niche and the smallest of family farm operations.  The program will operate similar to the Operating Loan program, but will include reduced requirements for managerial experience and loan security, as well as reduced paperwork.

The Microloan program can be used for such expenses as annual crop inputs, marketing and distribution expenses, purchase of livestock and equipment, and minor farm improvements such as wells and coolers.

Eligible applicants may obtain a Microloan for up to $35,000.  The repayment term may vary and will not exceed seven years.  Annual operating loans are normally repaid within 12 months or when the agricultural commodities produced are sold. Interest rates will be the same as the regular Direct Operating Loan rates.

Unauthorized Disposition of Grain

If loan grain has been disposed of through feeding, selling or any other form of disposal without prior written authorization from the County Office staff, it is considered unauthorized disposition.  The financial penalties for unauthorized dispositions are severe and a producer’s name will be placed on a loan violation list for a two-year period.   Always call before you haul any grain under loan.

2012 ACRE Production Required

Producers who are enrolled in the 2012 ACRE Program are required to certify production on a FSA-658 form  by July 15th 2013.  Failure to do so will result in a noncmplaint situation for 2012 payments.

*Important Dates to Remember*

• May 20, 2013   -   CRP 45th General Sign-up Begins 
• May 27th, 2013 - Memorial Day ***Office Closed***
• June 3, 2013   -   2013 ACRE Sign-up Ends
• June 7, 2013   -   2011 SURE Sign-up Ends
• June 14, 2013  -  CRP 45th General Sign-up Ends
• July 4, 2013     -    Independence Day  *** Office Closed ***
• July 15, 2013   -   2013 CRP & Crop Reporting Deadline
• July 15, 2013   -   2012 ACRE Production Deadline
• August 2, 2013  - 2013 DCP Sign-up Ends