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April 29 --- Deadline to enroll in the Spot Market Hog Pandemic Program (SMHPP).
May 13 --- CRP Grasslands sign-up deadline.
May 30 --- Memorial Day Holiday. USDA Service Center Closed.
May 31 --- Deadline to apply for 2021 commodity loans and LDP's on feed grains, soybeans, pulse crops.
June 15 -- County Committee Nomination Period begins.
June 20 -- Juneteenth National Independence Day. USDA Service Center Closed.
July 4 ----- Independence Day Holiday. USDA Service Center Closed.
July 15 --- End of primary nesting season for CRP program purposes.
July 15 ---- Final certification date to report burley tobacco; cabbage planted through May 31; corn, grain sorghum, hybrid corn seed, spring oats, potatoes, popcorn, sugar beets, tomatoes and other crops. Report perennial forage crops. Report Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acreage.
July 15 ---- Final Date to Report Production for the preceding Crop Year for Farms Enrolled in ARC-IC.
August 1 -- Last day to file County Committee Nomination forms.
August 1 -- Deadline to Request farm reconstitutions and transfers for 2022.
August 5 -- Deadline for producers to request re-enrollment of Continuous Signup contracts or enrollment into TIP.
Ongoing
Reports of Failed Acreage must be filed with the County Office before disposition of the crop.
Reports of Prevented Planting Acreage must be filed with the County Office no later than 15 calendar days after the final planting date for that county and producers of hand-harvested crops and certain perishable crops must notify FSA within 72 hours of when a loss becomes apparent.
Contact FSA right away for notice of loss deadlines and disaster program requirements.
New applications for Farm Service Agency Loan Programs.
Inform the office of bank account changes.
Inform the office if you have picked up or dropped any farm(s).
Inform the office of farm and cropland boundary changes.
Producers Must Apply by May 13
The USDA encourages producers and landowners to enroll in the Grassland Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) starting next week through May 13, 2022. Grassland CRP provides a unique opportunity for farmers, ranchers, and agricultural landowners to keep land in agricultural production and supplement their income while improving their soils and permanent grass cover. The program had its highest enrollment in history in 2021 and is part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s broader effort to equip producers with the tools they need to help address climate change and invest in the long-term health of our natural resources.
Grassland CRP is a federally funded voluntary working lands program. Through the program, USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) provides annual rental payments to landowners to maintain and conserve grasslands while allowing producers to graze, hay, and produce seed on that land. Maintaining the existing permanent cover provides several benefits, including reducing erosion, providing wildlife habitat and migration corridors, and capturing and maintaining carbon in the soil and cover.
FSA provides participants with annual rental payments and cost-share assistance. The annual rental rate varies by county with a national minimum rental rate of $13 per acre for this signup. Contract duration is 10 or 15 years.
Grassland CRP National Priority Zones
Because Grassland CRP supports not only grazing operations but also biodiversity and conserving environmentally sensitive land such as that prone to wind erosion, FSA created two National Priority Zones in 2021: the Greater Yellowstone Migration Corridor and Dust Bowl Zone. As part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s focus on conservation in important wildlife corridors and key seasonal ranges, for this year’s signup, FSA is expanding the Greater Yellowstone Wildlife Migration Corridor Priority Zone to include seven additional counties across Montana, Wyoming, and Utah, to help protect the big-game animal migration corridor associated with Wyoming elk, mule deer, and antelope.
Offers within one of these National Priority Zones will receive an additional 15 ranking points and $5 per acre if at least 50% of the offer is located in the zone.
Alongside Grassland CRP, producers and landowners can also enroll acres in Continuous CRP under the ongoing sign up, which includes projects available through the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) and State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement (SAFE).
Broadening Reach of Program
As part of the Agency’s Justice40 efforts, producers and landowners who are historically underserved, including beginning farmers and military veterans, will receive 10 additional ranking points to enhance their offers.
Additionally, USDA is working to broaden the scope and reach of Grassland CRP by leveraging the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) to engage historically underserved communities. CREP is a partnership program that enables states, Tribal governments, non-profit, and private entities to partner with FSA to implement CRP practices and address high priority conservation and environmental objectives. Interested entities are encouraged to contact FSA.
More Information on CRP
Landowners and producers interested in Grassland CRP should contact their local USDA Service Center to learn more or to apply for the program before the May 13 deadline. Additionally, fact sheets and other resources are available at fsa.usda.gov/crp.
Signed into law in 1985, CRP is one of the largest voluntary private-lands conservation programs in the United States. The working lands signup announced today demonstrates how much it has evolved from the original program that was primarily intended to control soil erosion and only had the option to take enrolled land out of production. The program has expanded over the years and now supports a greater variety of conservation and wildlife benefits, along with the associated economic benefits.
The USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) recently made several policy updates for acreage reporting for cover crops, revising intended use, late-filed provisions, grazing allotments as well as updated the definitions of “idle” and “fallow.”
Reporting Cover Crops:
Cover crop types can be chosen from the following four categories:
- Cereals and other grasses
- Legumes
- Brassicas and other broadleaves
- Mixtures
If the cover crop is harvested for any use other than forage or grazing and is not terminated according to policy guidelines, then that crop will no longer be considered a cover crop and the acreage report must be revised to reflect the actual crop.
Permitted Revision of Intended use After Acreage Reporting Date:
New operators or owners who pick up a farm after the acreage reporting deadline has passed and the crop has already been reported on the farm, have 30 calendar days from the date when the new operator or owner acquired the lease on land, control of the land or ownership and new producer crop share interest in the previously reported crop acreage. Under this policy, appropriate documentation must be provided to the County Committee’s satisfaction to determine that a legitimate operator or ownership and producer crop share interest change occurred to permit the revision.
Acreage Reports:
In order to maintain program eligibility and benefits, producers must timely file acreage reports. Failure to file an acreage report by the crop acreage reporting deadline may result in ineligibility for future program benefits. FSA will not accept acreage reports provided more than a year after the acreage reporting deadline.
Reporting Grazing Allotments:
FSA offices can now accept acreage reports for grazing allotments. Producers will use form “FSA-578” to report grazing allotments as animal unit months (AUMs) using the “Reporting Unit” field. The local FSA office will need the grazing period start and end date and the percent of public land.
Definitions of Terms
FSA defines “idle” as cropland or a balance of cropland within a Common Land Unit (CLU) (field/subfield) which is not planted or considered not planted and does not meet the definition of fallow or skip row.
Fallow is considered unplanted cropland acres which are part of a crop/fallow rotation where cultivated land that is normally planted is purposely kept out of production during a regular growing season.
To comply with FSA program eligibility requirements, all producers are encouraged to contact their FSA office to file an accurate crop certification report by the applicable deadline.
The following acreage reporting dates are applicable for:
May 31, 2022 --- Report Nursery Crop Acreage. July 15, 2022 --- Report all your Burley Tobacco, Cabbage (Planted 3/19/22-5/31/22), Corn, Grain Sorghum, Hybrid Corn Seed, Spring Oats, Popcorn, Potatoes, Soybeans, Sugar Beets, Tomatoes and all other crops. Report Perennial Forage Crops. Aug. 15, 2022 --- Report Cabbage (Planted 6/1/22-7/20/22). Sept. 30, 2022 --- Report Aquaculture. other Fall-Seeded Small Grains.
The following exceptions apply to the above acreage reporting dates:
- If the crop has not been planted by the above acreage reporting date, then the acreage must be reported no later than 15 calendar days after planting is completed.
- If a producer acquires additional acreage after the above acreage reporting date, then the acreage must be reported no later than 30 calendars days after purchase or acquiring the lease. Appropriate documentation must be provided to the county office.
Producers should also report crop acreage they intended to plant, but due to natural disaster, were unable to plant. Prevented planting acreage must be reported on form CCC-576, Notice of Loss, no later than 15 calendar days after the final planting date as established by FSA and USDA’s Risk Management Agency.
Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) policy holders should note that the acreage reporting date for NAP covered crops is the earlier of the dates listed above or 15 calendar days before grazing or harvesting of the crop begins.
If you have applied for organic certification and do not receive it before the acreage reporting deadline, you may provide the necessary documentation to FSA immediately upon receipt from the certifying agent.
For more information, contact your Mercer County FSA office.
The Farm Service Agency makes loans to youths to establish and operate income-producing projects in connection with 4-H clubs, FFA and other agricultural groups. Projects must be planned and operated with the help of the organization advisor, produce sufficient income to repay the loan and provide the youth with practical business and educational experience. The maximum loan amount is $5,000.
Applicants Must:
- Be a citizen of the United States (which includes Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands) or a legal resident alien
- Be 10 years to 20 years of age
- Comply with FSA’s general eligibility requirements
- Be unable to get a loan from other sources
- Conduct a modest income-producing project in a supervised program of work as outlined above
- Demonstrate capability of planning, managing and operating the project under guidance and assistance from a project advisor. The project supervisor must recommend the project and the loan, along with providing adequate supervision.
To find out more about the FSA Youth loan program, contact your local FSA county office to setup an appointment with a Loan Approval Official.
The USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Ohio has announced a second round of funding for the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). Private landowners interested in building on existing conservation efforts to improve production and reduce overall input costs are encouraged to apply by the May 13, 2022 deadline.
Through CSP, agricultural producers and forest landowners earn payments for actively managing, maintaining, and expanding conservation activities like cover crops, ecologically-based pest management, buffer strips, and pollinator and beneficial insect habitat – all while maintaining active agriculture production on their land.
“NRCS conservation programs are good for natural resources and for your operation’s bottom line,” said John Wilson, NRCS Ohio State Conservationist. “The Conservation Stewardship Program allows you to address resource concerns like nutrient management, soil quality and energy use, which can really impact a farmer’s margins.”
CSP encourages the adoption of cutting-edge technologies and new management techniques such as precision agriculture applications, on-site carbon storage and planting for high carbon sequestration rates, and new soil amendments to improve water quality.
Learn more about the CSP application process and eligible land use resource concerns: CSP FAQ Sheet
Contact a local Ohio USDA service center or visit the Ohio NRCS CSP webpage to get started. While applications for CSP are accepted throughout the year, producers should submit applications by the deadline to be considered for the current funding period
Because of the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is extending program flexibilities to Approved Insurance Providers (AIPs) and agricultural producers until June 30, 2022 or later. Originally, these flexibilities were expiring this month.
Extended flexibilities include:
- Allowing notifications to be sent electronically, including policy related information over the phone or other electronic methods to select policy elections by sales closing, acreage reporting and production reporting dates, including options, endorsements and their forms. Producers may sign electronically or within 60 calendar days.
- Allowing producers to submit a request for a written agreement after the sales closing date.
- Allowing producers with inability to physically sign a written agreement because of COVID-19 to do so after the expiration date.
- Providing additional time for AIPs to accept Regional Office Determined Yield, Master Yield, and Irrigated Determined Yield requests for Category B (annual) crops.
- Allowing AIPs to request a 30-day extension to submit Determined Yield requests for Category C (perennial) crops.
- Waiving the witness signature requirement for approval of Assignments of Indemnity.
Additional details can be found in RMA’s Jan. 20, 2022 Manager’s Bulletin, the frequently asked questions or farmers.gov/coronavirus.
Additional Pandemic Assistance
These flexibilities are part of USDA’s broader response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, RMA recently provided $59.5 million in premium support for producers who planted cover crops on 12.2 million acres through the new Pandemic Cover Crop Program. Also, USDA’s Pandemic Assistance for Producers has provided additional support for producers by improving and retargeting existing programs and creating new efforts, like PCCP, to reach a broader set of producers. USDA is currently accepting applications for two new pandemic assistance programs: the Organic and Transitional Education and Certification Program by Feb. 4, 2022 and the Spot Market Hog Pandemic Program by Feb. 25, 2022.
Crop insurance is sold and delivered solely through private crop insurance agents. A list of crop insurance agents is available at all USDA Service Centers and online at the RMA Agent Locator. Learn more about crop insurance and the modern farm safety net at rma.usda.gov.
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