Wicomico County USDA Service Center Updates - November 2021

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US Department of Agriculture

Wicomico County USDA Service Center Updates - November 2021


Wicomico County Office Updates

Office Visitation Policy:  As you make plans this fall/winter to visit the FSA office to report your small grains and signup for ARC/PLC, please remember that COVID-19 protocols are still in place.  At this time, producers can make an appointment to conduct business in the FSA office.  Due to COVID-19 protocols we are limited to just 1 producer in the office at a time.  A mask must be worn at all times inside USDA facilities regardless of vaccination status.  To schedule an appointment please call 410-546-4777 ext. 2.  Scheduling an appointment is highly recommended. 

Small Grain Acreage Reporting:  The deadline to report fall seeded small grain (Wheat, Barley, Rye, etc.) is December 15, 2021. If you need a copy of your maps please contact us!  We can send them to you via USPS as paper copies or electronically through email as a PDF attachment.   

ARC/PLC:  The signup window for 2022 ARC/PLC contacts is currently open. Taylor will be discussing program elections with you in the near future.  The deadline to sign 2022 ARC/PLC contracts is March 15, 2022. 

Upcoming Deadlines

  • December 6 – Deadline to return County Committee ballots
  • December 15 – Reporting deadline for fall-seeded small grains (barley, wheat, rye, etc.)
  • December 24 - Office closed for Christmas Holiday 
  • December 31 - Office closed for New Years' Day Holiday
Calendar

Submit Loan Requests for Financing Early

Farm Loan

The Farm Loan team is already working on operating loans for spring 2022 and asks potential borrowers to submit their requests early so they can be timely processed. The farm loan team can help determine which loan programs are best for applicants. 

FSA offers a wide range of low-interest loans that can meet the financial needs of any farm operation for just about any purpose. The traditional farm operating and farm ownership loans can help large and small farm operations take advantage of early purchasing discounts for spring inputs as well expenses throughout the year. 

Microloans are a simplified loan program that will provide up to $50,000 for both Farm Ownership and Operating Microloans to eligible applicants. These loans, targeted for smaller and non-traditional operations, can be used for operating expenses, starting a new operation, purchasing equipment, and other needs associated with a farming operation.  Loans to beginning farmers and members of underserved groups are a priority.

Other types of loans available include:

Marketing Assistance Loans allow producers to use eligible commodities as loan collateral and obtain a 9-month loan while the crop is in storage. These loans provide cash flow to the producer and allow them to market the crop when prices may be more advantageous.  

Farm Storage Facility Loans can be used to build permanent structures used to store eligible commodities, for storage and handling trucks, or portable or permanent handling equipment. A variety of structures are eligible under this loan, including bunker silos, grain bins, hay storage structures, and refrigerated structures for vegetables and fruit. A producer may borrow up to $500,000 per loan.  


Unauthorized Disposition of Grain Results in Financial Penalties

Bin

If loaned 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 your name will be placed on a loan violation list for a two-year period. Always call before you haul any grain under loan.


Farmers Help America Keep Soil Healthy

hand holding soil

Our lives are dependent on healthy soil. Healthy soil gives us clean air and water, bountiful crops and forests, productive grazing lands, diverse wildlife and beautiful landscapes. It’s the reason why USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service experts are in your community and across the nation.

Soil is composed of air, water, organic matter and minerals. A community of organisms – functioning as a soil food web – lives all or parts of their lives in soil. More individual organisms are in a teaspoon of soil than there are people on earth. Increasing soil organic matter typically improves soil health, since organic matter improves several critical functions of soil.

To improve the health of their soil, more and more farmers and ranchers are keeping soil covered, reducing disturbance activities such as tilling, keeping plants growing throughout the year, and diversifying the crops they’re planting in a rotation. Taking these steps allow farmers and ranchers to help reduce erosion while increasing the soil’s ability to provide nutrients and water to the plant at critical times during the growing season.

When producers focus on improving soil health, they often have larger harvests, lower input costs, optimized nutrient use, and improved crop resilience during drought years like last year. In heavy rainfall years, healthy soil holds more water, reducing runoff that helps avert flooding downstream.

And because healthy soil allows for greater water infiltration and less erosion, nutrients and pesticides stay on the farm where they benefit crops, and are far less likely to be carried off the farm into streams and lakes where they can cause harm.

NRCS helps farmers install conservation practices such as cover crops to maintain and improve soil health – all of which can lead to productive, profitable and sustainable farming and ranching operations for generations to come.


Wicomico County Crop Loan Rates & Current Interest Rates - November 2021

2021 Wicomico County Crop Loan Rates (for Marketing Assistance Loans):

Corn - $2.36
Soybeans - $6.34
Wheat (SRW) - $3.56
Barley - $2.16
Grain Sorghum - $4.16

Marketing Assistance Loans, November 2021 Interest Rate:

1.125%

Farm Storage Facility Loans, November 2021 Interest Rates:

3 year - 0.625%
5 year - 1.000%
7 year - 1.375%
10 year - 1.500%
12 year - 1.625%


 

Wicomico USDA Service Center

2322B Goddard Pkwy
Salisbury, MD 21801

Phone:  410-546-4777
Fax: 855-401-6644

Farm Service Agency (FSA)
410-546-4777 ext. 2

County Executive Director:
Julie Pinto Schaub

Farm Loan Manager:
April Benton
Caroline County FSA Office
410-479-1202 ext. 2

Program Technicians:
Taylor Passwaters
Katie Cavalluzzo

County Committee:
Justin Day, Chairman
Danny Hammond, Vice-Chairman
Chris Riall, Regular Member
Susan Arnold, Advisor

Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS)
410-546-4777 ext. 3

District Conservationist:
Teresa Kampmeyer

 

 

 

Wicomico Soil Conservation District (SCD)
410-546-4777 ext. 3

District Manager:
Rick Glasgow