The weather has finally cooperated and most areas of the counties have received much needed and welcomed rain. There are a few areas that could still use more but we are better off than we were a few weeks ago. 

Commodity Loans: Small grain harvest is beginning for some and is about wrapped up for others. If you have 2023 small grain in the bin, 9-month commodity loans are a great way to obtain some cash up front to help finance your operation. Once you are ready to sell the grain or prior to loan maturity, you can pay off the loan.

Emergency CRP Haying and Grazing:  Livestock operations may be interested in taking advantage of haying and/or grazing of CRP acres. The current farm bill authorized changes that provides better options for haying and grazing of CRP.   West Otter Tail and Wilkin Counties are authorized for emergency haying and grazing of CRP. 

CRP participants are required to file a request for emergency haying or grazing and receive written approval from FSA prior to actually starting the haying or grazing activities on eligible acres. Up to 100% of eligible contract acres can be hayed or grazed under emergency provisions. There is no payment reduction to hay or graze eligible CRP acres due to the current drought conditions. 

Haying activities must end by August 31st. Bales must be removed off the CRP acres no later than September 15th. Cover should not be disturbed after September 15th. This means you should not shove bales off to the side of the field and then later use the CRP acres to retrieve the bales.

Grazing activities is authorized through September 30th or a minimum stubble height is reached. 

EQIP: The Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP) application sign up deadline for the first round of 2024 funding is October 6, 2023. This program is perfect for trying new conservation practices on a few fields, structural projects, or grazing projects. If you have an erosion site you would like us to look at or want more information on the EQIP program stop by the USDA Service Center or call the West Otter Tail County USDA Service Center at 218-739-4694 or Wilkin County USDA Service Center at 218-643-1536.

Interested in Pollinators: The Wilkin County Soil & Water District and Richland Soil Conservation District are sponsoring an event promoting pollinators. This free event is open to the public and will provide opportunities to lean about pollinator trees, pollinator seeds, and tips for keeping the pollinator population healthy. You will be able to visit stations and vendors regarding pollinators. NDSU Extension will give a presentation on pollinators at 5:30 PM. The event will be held at the Crooked Lane Farm, 17385 County Road 4, Colfax, ND on Wednesday, August 30^th from 4:00 to 7:00 PM.

Farm Storage Facility Loan - Did you know FSA’s Farm Storage Facility Loan Program (FSFL) can help you with your storage and handling needs? During harvest, were you thinking that you really could use a truck, grain cart, sugar beet cart, auger, or another piece of equipment to meet your handling needs? Do you need additional storage? Are interest rates at your local lender holding you back from making that purchase?  Then why don’t you give our FSFL program a chance to help you:

• Acquire new or used storage and handling trucks;
• Acquire portable or permanently affixed storage and handling equipment; and/or
• Acquire new storage bins.

A variety of structures, handling equipment, and trucks are eligible under this loan program, including new & used: dryers, augers, trucks, semi tractors, grain trailers (hopper, live bottom, end dump), baggers, bale wrappers, grain carts, sugar beet carts, forklifts and skid steers, bulk tanks, propane tanks, hay barns, facilities for cold storage, storage, drying, & handling facilities, and many more options available.

Contact your local FSA office early in your planning process to determine what level of environmental review is required for your program application so that it can be completed timely.

Leon Johnson, CED

The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) provides for emergency haying and grazing on certain CRP practices in a county designated as D2 or higher on the U.S. Drought Monitor, or in a county where there is at least 40 percent loss in forage production.  More information can be found in the Fact Sheet.  

Emergency use of CRP acres is available in eligible counties if the stand is in condition to support such activity and is subject to a modified conservation plan. Wilkin County has been approved for emergency haying and grazing but some restrictions apply. 

There are also options available under non-emergency haying and grazing provisions outside of the primary nesting season.

To ensure compliance and protect program benefits, CRP Contract Holders must complete forms and receive approval from the West Otter Tail or Wilkin County FSA office BEFORE initiating haying or grazing on CRP acres. In addition, haying activities need to end by August 31st. 

CRP participants must report completion of haying or grazing to the office within 10 days and bales must be removed from CRP acres within 15 days. Fees may apply if any of the above steps are missed.  Please contact the West Otter Tail County USDA Service Center at 218-739-4694 or Wilkin County USDA Service Center at 218-643-1536 with questions and/or to sign-up.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced the opening of the financial assistance application process for eligible farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners who experienced discrimination in USDA farm lending programs prior to January 2021. Section 22007 of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) directs USDA to provide this assistance. Since the law’s passage, USDA has worked diligently to design the program in accordance with significant stakeholder input. The program website, 22007apply.gov, is now open. The website includes an English- and Spanish-language application that applicants can download or submit via an e-filing portal, information on how to obtain technical assistance in-person or virtually, and additional resources and details about the program.

Farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners who experienced discrimination by USDA in its farm loan programs prior to January 1, 2021 and/or are currently debtors with assigned or assumed USDA farm loan debt that was the subject of USDA discrimination that occurred prior to January 1, 2021, are eligible for this program. To apply, borrowers have the option to apply via the e-filing portal at 22007apply.gov or submit paper-based forms via mail or in-person delivery to the program’s local offices. The application process will be open from July 7 to October 31, 2023. Under the planned timeline, applications will be reviewed in November and December, with payments reaching recipients soon thereafter. Importantly, applicants should know that the application process is not on a first come, first served, basis. All applications received or postmarked before the October 31 deadline will be considered.

To support producers throughout the application process, USDA is ensuring that organizations with extensive experience conducting outreach to farm organizations are able to support individuals who may be eligible for the program. These groups include AgrAbility, Farmer Veteran Coalition, Farmers’ Legal Action Group, Federation of Southern Cooperatives, Intertribal Agriculture Council, Land Loss Prevention Program, National Young Farmers Coalition, and Rural Coalition.

Vendors operating four regional hubs are also providing technical assistance and working closely with these and other community-based organizations to conduct outreach using digital and grassroots strategies, to ensure potential applicants are informed about the program and have the opportunity to apply. These hubs are operating a network of brick-and-mortar program

offices and will conduct extensive outreach about the program. Windsor Group serves farmers in the eastern regions of the U.S. and Analytic Acquisitions serves the western regions. A national administrator, Midtown Group, is responsible for program oversight and integrity, and will lead a national call-center, operate the application website - 22007apply.gov, which is now open – and review and process applications and payments. All vendors have experience in professional services, supporting government contracts, and complex program operations. On March 1, 2023, USDA shared initial details on how the Section 22007 program will work, including that the Inflation Reduction Act specifies the Secretary of Agriculture is responsible for providing this assistance through qualified nongovernmental entities, under standards set by USDA. USDA entered into agreements with vendors and cooperators in May.

In addition to the Discrimination Financial Assistance Program (DFAP) opening today, the Inflation Reduction Act also created several other programs that are helping USDA rebuild trust, address systemic issues and improve service to people who may have been underserved by USDA in the past. Information about USDA’s equity agenda and progress is available at www.usda.gov/equity.

In standing up this program, USDA has become aware of some lawyers and groups spreading misleading information about the discrimination assistance process, pressuring people to sign retainer agreements, and asking people to fill out forms with private and sensitive information. As of today, the official application process has begun and filling out an application is free.

No attorneys’ fees will be paid to applicants or their counsel by USDA or by any other agency or department of the United States. The amount of financial assistance will not be increased for those claimants who are represented by an attorney. Applicants are not required to retain an attorney. USDA, the national administrator, and the regional hub vendors will neither recommend that any applicant retain counsel or retain a specific attorney or law firm, nor discourage an applicant from obtaining counsel or using a specific attorney or law firm. For more information, read our fact sheet about the program timeline and ways to protect against possible scams.

USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, promoting competition and fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate-smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit www.usda.gov.

The term “sodbusting” is used to identify the conversion of land from native vegetation to commodity crop production after December 23, 1985.  As part of the conservation provisions of the Food Security Act of 1985, if you’re proposing to produce agricultural commodities (crops that require annual tillage including one pass planting operations and sugar cane) on land that has been determined highly erodible and that has no crop history prior to December 23, 1985, that land must be farmed in accordance with a conservation plan or system that ensures no substantial increase in soil erosion.

Eligibility for many USDA programs requires compliance with a conservation plan or system on highly erodible land (HEL) used for the production of agricultural commodities. This includes Farm Service Agency (FSA) loan, disaster assistance, safety net, price support, and conservation programs; Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) conservation programs; and Risk Management Agency (RMA) Federal crop insurance.

Before you clear or prepare areas not presently under production for crops that require annual tillage, you are required to file Form AD-1026 “Highly Erodible Land Conservation and Wetland Conservation Certification,” with FSA indicating the area to be brought into production. The notification will be referred to NRCS to determine if the field is considered highly erodible land. If the field is considered HEL, you are required to implement a conservation plan or system that limits the erosion to the tolerable soil loss (T) for the predominant HEL soil on those fields.

In addition, prior to removing trees or conducting any other land manipulations that may affect wetlands, remember to update form AD-1026, to ensure you remain in compliance with the wetland conservation provisions.

Prior to purchasing or renting new cropland acres, it is recommended that you check with your local USDA Service Center to ensure your activities will be in compliance with the highly erodible land and wetland conservation provisions.

For additional information on highly erodible land conservation and wetland conservation compliance, contact your local USDA Service Center.

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires Federal agencies to consider all potential environmental impacts for federally funded projects before the project is approved.

For all Farm Service Agency (FSA) programs, an environmental review must be completed before actions are approved, such as site preparation or ground disturbance. These programs include, but are not limited to, the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP), Farm Storage Facility Loan (FSFL) program and farm loans. If project implementation begins before FSA has completed an environmental review, the request will be denied. Although there are exceptions regarding the Stafford Act and emergencies, it’s important to wait until you receive written approval of your project proposal before starting any actions.

Applications cannot be approved until FSA has copies of all permits and plans. Contact your local FSA office early in your planning process to determine what level of environmental review is required for your program application so that it can be completed timely.