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Greetings,
I hope this letter finds each of you happy and healthy. Happiness is something that people seek to find, yet what defines happiness can vary from one person to the next. Typically, happiness is an emotional state characterized by feelings of joy, satisfaction, contentment, and fulfillment. While happiness has many different definitions, it is often described as involving positive emotions and life satisfaction. Whatever brings you happiness we here at the Defiance FSA wish you lots of it in the month of March and always!
Happiness in this office, this time of year, is knowing all of you have completed your ARC/PLC contracts for yet another year! The deadline for 2023 is Wednesday, March 15 - tomorrow! We may not be 100% happy quite yet but we are pretty close and we thank you all for getting those contracts back to us. If you still need to complete this task please call the office ASAP so we can make a plan to get it done!
Below there is an article on our 2 newest ad hoc programs - ERP Phase 2 and PARP. Both of these are looking at Revenue loss. ERP Phase 2 is the second phase of the ERP program - this program is based on having a loss due to a participating disaster event in 2020 or 2021. PARP is not based on disaster events but does also look at Revenue loss - with the PARP program you choose to use 2018 or 2019 as your "standard" year and then it looks at 2020 and compares them. Of course, like all of our other programs, there are many parts to a completed ERP 2 or PARP application. We will be happy to assist you in understanding both programs to the best of our ability. The article below has several links that provide more information.
Don't forget we are here to help, our office is open Monday - Friday 8am until 4:30pm; our phone number is 419-782-4781.
Enjoy each day to the fullest and find something that makes you happy!
~Amy Morman, County Executive Director
To date, USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories has confirmed the presence of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in commercial and backyard flocks in 47 states. Avian influenza viruses are classified as either “low pathogenic” or “highly pathogenic” based on their genetic features and the severity of the disease they cause in poultry. Caused by an influenza type A virus, HPAI can infect poultry (such as chickens, turkeys, pheasants, quail, domestic ducks, geese, and guinea fowl) and wild birds (especially waterfowl).
The clinical signs of birds affected with all forms of avian influenza may show one or more of the following:
- Sudden death without clinical signs
- Decreased water consumption up to 72 hours before other clinical signs
- Lack of energy and appetite
- Decreased egg production
- Soft–shelled or misshapen eggs
- Swelling of the head, eyelids, comb, wattles, and hocks
- Purple discoloration of the wattles, combs, and legs
- Nasal discharge
- Coughing, sneezing
- Lack of coordination
- Diarrhea
In addition to the disease infecting domestic birds, it is important to know that wild birds can also be infected and show no signs of illness. They can carry the disease to new areas when migrating, potentially exposing domestic poultry to the virus. The APHIS’ wild bird surveillance program provides an early warning system for the introduction and distribution of avian influenza viruses of concern in the United States, allowing APHIS and the poultry industry to take timely and rapid action.
With the recent detections of avian influenza in wild birds and domestic poultry in the United States, bird owners should review their biosecurity practices and stay vigilant to protect poultry and pet birds from transmission of this disease. The following bio-safety guidelines are effective methods for safeguarding commercial operations and smaller flocks:
- Backyard flock owners should practice strict biosecurity, including preventing birds from exposure and/or co-mingling with wild birds and other types of poultry.
- Shower, change clothes, and clean and disinfect footwear before entering your poultry housing areas.
- Respiratory protection such as a medical facemask would also be important and remember to always wear clean clothes when encountering healthy domestic birds.
- Carefully follow safe entry and exit procedures into your flock’s clean area.
- Reduce the attractiveness for wild birds to stop at your place by cleaning up litter and spilled feed around poultry housing areas.
- If you have free range guinea fowl and waterfowl, consider bringing them into coops or flight pens under nets to prevent interaction of domesticated poultry with wild birds and their droppings.
- It is best to restrict visitors from interacting with your birds currently.
- Do not touch sick or dead wildlife and keep them away from domestic poultry
- Try not to handle sick or deceased domestic birds (if you must, use proper personal protective equipment to minimize direct contact and cautiously disinfect anything that comes into contact with the deceased and or sick bird).
As part of the existing USDA avian influenza response plans, Federal and State partners as well as industry are responding quickly and decisively to these outbreaks by following these five basic steps:
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Quarantine – restricting movement of poultry and poultry-moving equipment into and out of the control area;
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Eradicate – depopulate the affected flock(s);
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Monitor region – testing wild and domestic birds in a broad area around the quarantine area;
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Disinfect – kills the virus in the affected flock locations; and
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Test – confirming that the poultry farm is AI virus-free.
Sick or deceased domestic birds should be reported to your local veterinarian. Positive domestic cases are handled by APHIS and its partners. States that have confirmed cases of avian influenza should work closely with USDA-APHIS on surveillance, reporting and control efforts. Disposal methods will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis depending on a variety of factors, including the size of the flock, space requirements, associated costs, local conditions, and applicable laws/regulations.
The United States has the strongest avian influenza surveillance program in the world, where we actively look for the disease and provide fair market value compensation to affected producers to encourage reporting.
If you do not raise domestic birds or have a poultry operation but you encounter sick or dead wild birds, please use bio-safety measures, and report your findings through USDA’s toll-free number at 1-866-536-7593.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, this strain of avian influenza is a low risk to the public. While the transmission rate from animals to humans is low, it is a zoonotic disease, meaning it can be shared between species. To learn more about avian influenza and to remain up to date on the latest related news and information, you can visit the USDA APHIS webpage.
Producers who have solar panels constructed on their farms should notify the local Farm Service Agency office. Any area that is no longer considered suitable as cropland (producing annual or perennial crops) should be designated in FSA’s records and aerial photography maps. When base acres on a farm are converted to a non-agricultural commercial or industrial use, the total base acres on the farm must be reduced accordingly. Non-cropland areas used for solar panels might impact payments calculated using base acres, such as Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) and Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) annual rental payments.
For most agricultural producers, activities over the winter months tend to slow down. This is an opportune time to take look at your farming operation and determine if there are areas that could benefit from the establishment of one or more conservation practices.
For instance, do you have a ditch or stream running through your farm that needs a filter strip? Is a particular field prone to wind erosion and stands to benefit from a windbreak? How about that one area that’s hard to farm because it’s always wet? Have you considered how FSA’s Lake Erie Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (Lake Erie CREP) might benefit your farming operation and help to protect the environment at the same time?
Lake Erie CREP began with the main objective to improve water quality in all of our rivers, streams, and tributaries within the Lake Erie watershed with a special emphasis on the Blanchard and Tiffin Rivers as important tributaries of the Maumee River. These conservation practices will target environmentally sensitive areas to reduce sediments and nutrients, prevent water pollution and minimize the risk of flooding and improve the habitat for multiple wildlife species.
Farmers and landowners can choose from a variety of practices including grass buffer strips, riparian buffers, wetlands and windbreaks that work together to prevent chemicals, soils and other contaminants from running off of cropland and into waterways. Also, participants can earn money on less economically viable land, such as land along ditch banks and streams.
In exchange for installing and maintaining these practices, you will earn a guaranteed annual rental payment for 14 to 15 years plus receive cost share and potential incentives to cover the majority of the cost of practice installation. The annual income from the conservation practice will be similar to what is paid for cash rent on the three predominant soils of the CREP practice area. Additional soil rental rate incentives are also available. Also, FSA can provide you with an estimate of the payments you would be eligible to receive for the duration of the contract period (14-15 years).
The Lake Erie CREP is available in 27 counties including; Allen, Ashland, Auglaize, Crawford, Defiance, Erie, Fulton, Hancock, Hardin, Henry, Huron, Lucas, Lorain, Marion, Medina, Mercer, Ottawa, Paulding, Putnam, Richland, Sandusky, Seneca, Shelby, Van Wert, Williams, Wood and Wyandot Counties.
Sign-up for the Lake Erie CREP is going on now. Interested landowners and farmers can view our Lake Erie CREP factsheet or contact their FSA County office to learn more about the Lake Erie CREP.
CRP contract holders are encouraged to transition their Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres to beginning, veteran or socially disadvantaged farmers or ranchers through the Transition Incentives Program (TIP). TIP provides annual rental payments to the landowner or operator for up to two additional years after the CRP contract expires.
CRP contract holders no longer need to be a retired or retiring owner or operator to transition their land. TIP participants must agree to sell, have a contract to sell, or agree to lease long term (at least five years) land enrolled in an expiring CRP contract to a beginning, veteran, or socially disadvantaged farmer or rancher who is not a family member.
To be considered eligible, veteran, beginning, or SDA farmers and CRP participants must enroll in TIP during the period beginning 2 years before the CRP contract expiration date and before August 5th of the Fiscal Year that the CRP contract is scheduled to expire. The TIP application must be submitted prior to completing the lease or sale of the affected lands. New landowners or renters that return the land to production must use sustainable grazing or farming methods.
For more information on TIP, contact your Defiance County FSA office.
Agricultural producers can now apply for two new important programs for revenue losses, from 2020 and 2021 natural disasters or the COVID-19 pandemic. Both programs equitably fill gaps in earlier assistance.
First, you may be eligible for assistance through the Emergency Relief Program (ERP) Phase Two if you experienced revenue losses from eligible natural disasters in 2020 and 2021. ERP Phase Two is for producers who didn’t receive assistance from ERP Phase One.
You may also be eligible for the Pandemic Assistance Revenue Program (PARP) if you experienced revenue losses in calendar year 2020. PARP is addressing gaps in previous pandemic assistance, which was targeted at price loss or lack of market access, rather than overall revenue losses.
Applications for both new programs are due June 2, 2023, and you can apply for both programs during your same appointment with USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA).
Historically, FSA programs have been designed to make direct payments to producers based on a single disaster event or for a single commodity loss. For many of you, this may be the first revenue-based program that you’ve applied for with FSA.
Why revenue-based programs?
ERP Phase Two and PARP take a much more holistic approach to disaster assistance, ensuring that producers not just make it through a single growing season but have the financial stability to invest in the long-term well-being of their operations and employees.
In general, ERP Phase Two payments are based on the difference in allowable gross revenue between a benchmark year, representing a typical year of revenue for the producer and the disaster year – designed to target the remaining needs of producers impacted by qualifying natural disasters and avoid duplicative payments. ERP Phase Two revenue loss is based on tax years.
For PARP, an agricultural producer must have been in the business of farming during at least part of the 2020 calendar year and had a decrease in revenue for the 2020 calendar year, as compared to a typical year. PARP revenue loss is based on calendar years.
How to Apply
In preparation for enrollment, producers should gather supporting documentation including:
- Schedule F (Form 1040); and
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Profit or Loss from Farming or similar tax documents for tax years 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 for ERP and for calendar years 2018, 2019 and 2020 for PARP.
Producers should also have, or be prepared to have, the following forms on file for both ERP and PARP program participation:
- Form AD-2047, Customer Data Worksheet (as applicable to the program participant);
- Form CCC-902, Farm Operating Plan for an individual or legal entity;
- Form CCC-901, Member Information for Legal Entities (if applicable); and
- Form AD-1026 Highly Erodible Land Conservation (HELC) and Wetland Conservation (WC) Certification.
- Form CCC-860, Socially Disadvantaged, Limited Resource, Beginning and Veteran Farmer or Rancher Certification, as certain existing permanent and ad-hoc disaster programs provide increased benefits or reduced fees and premiums.
Most producers, especially those who have previously participated in FSA programs, will likely have these required forms on file. However, those who are uncertain or want to confirm should contact FSA at their local USDA Service Center.
Please visit your local USDA Service Center for more information on ERP Phase Two, PARP and our full portfolio of conservation, prices support, safety-net, credit and disaster assistance programs.
When bad weather prevents planting or damages crops, FSA would like to remind producers to report the acreage to the FSA office within 15 days of the final planting date of the crop. This applies to all crops, whether covered by crop insurance, not covered by insurance, or covered by FSA's Non-insured Assistance Program (NAP). Final planting dates vary among counties and crop types.
Producers who have their crops insured through a private crop insurance company should contact the insurance agent immediately and advise them of the damaged crops. Additionally, a CCC-576, Notice of Loss Application, must be completed in person at the FSA office, and the prevented and/or failed acres reported.
For those crops covered under FSA's NAP, producers should immediately contact the FSA office to report the acres and file a CCC-576, Notice of Loss Application. Producers with NAP coverage should report their losses within 15 calendar days of crop damage from natural disaster. Producers of hand-harvested crops and certain perishable crops must notify FSA within 72 hours of when a loss becomes apparent, so the loss can be appraised, and production counted before the crop is put into another use, abandoned or destroyed.
Crops not covered with a private insurance or NAP policy should still be reported to the local FSA office. This will provide FSA with a historical record of your crop should disaster assistance become available.
For more information about reporting prevented planting or failed acres, contact or stop in the FSA office.
The Farm Service Agency is committed to providing family farmers with loans to meet their farm credit needs. If you are having trouble getting the credit you need for your farm, or regularly borrow from FSA, direct and guaranteed loans are currently available.
Ask your lender about an FSA loan guarantee if you’ve had a setback and your lender is reluctant to extend or renew your loan.
For detailed information, contact your FSA County office to setup an appointment with a Loan Approval Official.
March 1 -- Primary Nesting Season began.
March 15 - Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) election and enrollment application deadline for 2023 crop season.
March 15 - Deadline to obtain 2023 NAP coverage on spring planted crops.
March 15 - Deadline to purchase NAP coverage for hemp. NAP will be available for 2023 to provide insurance-type coverage due to adverse weather conditions. NAP provides coverage against loss for hemp grown for fiber, grain, seed, or cannabidiol (CBD) for the 2023 crop year where no permanent federal crop insurance program is available.
March 31 - Final Availability for 2022 crop wheat, barley, oats, honey loans and LDPs.
April 7 ---- Deadline to sign-up for General CRP.
May 29 --- Memorial Day Holiday. FSA Offices Closed.
May 31 --- Deadline to apply for 2022 commodity loans and LDP's on feed grains, soybeans, pulse crops.
June 2 ---- Deadline to apply for USDA's Emergency Relief Program (ERP) Phase Two.
June 2 ---- Deadline to apply for USDA's Pandemic Assistance Relief Program (PARP).
July 31 --- Deadline for producers to submit an offer for re-enrolled land or combination new and re-enrolled land for Continuous Signup 59.
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.
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