|
MDARD reminds industrial hemp growers about Farm Service Agency crop acreage reporting requirement.
June 17, 2021
Under the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) final rule for hemp production, all registered hemp growers are required to report their hemp crop acreage to the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA). USDA agencies administering farm programs — like FSA, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Risk Management Agency — may provide benefits to hemp producers through crop insurance or farm loan, conservation, and safety net programs. Reporting crop acreage is the first step in determining eligibility and accessing these programs.
Hemp growers must provide USDA-FSA with information including county, street address, and geospatial location for each lot or greenhouse where hemp is grown, intended use, acreage, organic status, planting dates, crop ownership, and hemp grower registration number. Growers who have not worked with FSA before will also likely need to supply the agency with a copy of the deed or lease agreement for each growing location.
Michigan’s Public Act 220 of 2020, the Industrial Hemp Growers Act, as amended, reflects USDA’s requirement and states growers must report with FSA after registering as a hemp grower and not more than 60 days before planting hemp. Growers will have already collected much of the information required by FSA for the hemp grower registration application submitted to the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD).
Once FSA processes your information, you will receive a completed FSA-578, “Report of Commodities Farm and Tract Detail Listing” or “Producer Print” version of the report from FSA. You must keep this document for five years as proof you submitted crop information. The report will also provide you a unique identification number for each hemp farm/tract/field/subfield. Under USDA’s final rule, these are called “Lot Identification Numbers” which are needed when you submit online requests to MDARD for preharvest sampling, remediation sampling, or lot disposal.
Your local FSA service center can help you file crop acreage reports. FSA has no filing fee, but the deadline is July 15 annually. You will incur a reporting fee if:
- You request on-site field acreage measurement by FSA.
- Your acreage report was filed after the annual reporting date for the crop (currently, July 15 for hemp). Late-filed acreage reports typically require:
- A site visit and inspection to verify the existence and/or disposition of the crop.
- The late-file fee to be paid and site visit to be conducted prior to the report being fully processed (certified) in FSA’s acreage reporting software.
Contact your local FSA office or visit the FSA website for additional information, including what information you need to bring and why filing acreage reports is an important part of determining your eligibility for programs such as disaster relief and crop insurance. In addition, USDA has provided FAQs regarding risk management and guidance specific to hemp growers explaining the programs they may be eligible for.
|
