USDA, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and Small Business Administration (SBA) have partnered to hold a regional business development series for small businesses (which include farmers and other agriculture enterprises), individuals, and urban/rural communities. The Midatlantic “Path to Prosperity” will be held on Wednesday, November 1. Topics include federal and private sector capital resources, government contracting and procurement, business development resources, and cybersecurity. Experts in the lending industry, federal government, and community partners and stakeholders will be on hand to exchange information, share best practices, and offer innovative solutions. There is no cost to attend but you must register for this hybrid event. We will be onsite at Bridgeville Public Library as well as broadcasting via ZOOM to all remote attendees. Look for a registration link and more information in this newsletter.
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November 1, 2023
600 South Cannon Street
Bridgeville, Delaware 19933
10:00AM - 5:00PM
You are invited to the Mid-Atlantic “Path to Prosperity” regional economic development series in Bridgeville, DE. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Small Business Administration (SBA), and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) have partnered to provide individuals, small businesses, including agriculture enterprises (farmers and ranchers), and urban/rural communities, useful information, tools, resources, and an opportunity to engage in dynamic discussions intended to create economic progress. The no-cost series features experts in the lending industry, Federal Government, and community partners and stakeholders. You must register for this hybrid event; we will be onsite at Bridgeville Public Library as well as broadcasting via ZOOM to all remote attendees.
Questions? Contact Jacqueline Davis-Slay Jacqueline.davis-slay@usda.gov
REGISTER HERE
Requests for Assistance Must Be Received by December 31, 2023
USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) continues to accept and review individual assistance requests from: (1) direct Farm Loan Programs (FLP) borrowers who missed a recent installment or are unable to make their next scheduled installment, and (2) borrowers who took certain extraordinary measures to avoid delinquency on their direct FLP loans.
FSA direct loan borrowers with qualifying FLP loans who are unable to pay their upcoming installments or have already missed a recent installment payment can request a cash flow analysis from FSA using a recent balance sheet and operating plan to determine their eligibility. This assistance is currently limited to installments due August 1, 2022, through January 15, 2024.
If FSA determines that a borrower qualifies for cash flow-based assistance due to an inability to develop a feasible plan for the current production cycle, FSA will make a one-time credit to the borrower’s account in the amount of the missed or upcoming direct loan installment(s). Consistent with other Section 22006 assistance provided to FSA direct loan borrowers, cash flow-based assistance is only available to borrowers who have not received prior IRA Section 22006 assistance that covered a forward direct loan installment.
Assistance is also available for borrowers who took certain extraordinary measures between February 28, 2020, through October 18, 2022, to avoid delinquency on their loans, such as monetizing long term or essential assets, incurring additional non-FSA debt, or deferring other essential payments, resulting in reduced farm and household viability.
If FSA determines that a borrower qualifies for extraordinary measures assistance, the borrower will receive a direct payment equaling the amount of funds obtained through the extraordinary measure(s) that were used to make the payment(s) to FSA, with a maximum payment being the full amount of the installment paid. Borrowers may also be eligible to receive a payment covering their next loan installment due on all FLP direct loans if they have not received prior IRA Section 22006 assistance that covered a forward installment.
Borrowers can submit requests for extraordinary measures or cash flow-based assistance in person at their local FSA office or by sending in a direct request using the farmers.gov 22006 assistance request portals at farmers.gov/loans/inflation-reduction-investments/assistance. All requests for assistance must be received by December 31, 2023.
Borrowers can learn more about extraordinary measures and cash flow-based assistance, including complete eligibility requirements, at farmers.gov/loans/inflation-reduction-investments/assistance.
As USDA learns more about the types of situations financially distressed farmers are facing, the Department will continue to update borrowers and the public about new assistance for distressed borrowers. USDA will also provide regular updates about its progress in deploying this funding to farmers who need it.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 2, 2023 – Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is announcing a new crop insurance program designed for agricultural producers who use controlled environments in their operations. The new Controlled Environment program from USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) is specifically for plants grown in fully enclosed controlled environments and provides coverage against plant diseases subject to destruction orders. Available beginning in the 2024 crop year, the Controlled Environment program provides a risk management resource for urban, specialty crop, and organic producers who often use controlled environments as a major part of their operations.
“We are always looking to improve and expand the crop insurance resources we offer to agricultural producers, and the new Controlled Environment program will greatly benefit urban, specialty crop, organic and other producers who grow in controlled environments,” said RMA Administrator Marcia Bunger. “Controlled environment agriculture is a quickly growing sector in the Nation’s food production, and this new option is part of USDA’s broader effort to support urban agriculture and new and better markets for American producers.”
The Controlled Environment program is a dollar plan of insurance, which bases the insured’s guarantee on inventory values reported by the producer, and provides coverage against plant diseases when the plants must be destroyed under a federal or state destruction order.
The Controlled Environment program adds to two other federal insurance products available to nursery and innovative agricultural producers by providing benefits that are not available under the other programs, such as:
- Offer coverage for all Controlled Environment plants, including cuttings, seedlings, and tissue culture.
- Offer crop insurance coverage through a streamlined application and policy renewal process.
- Offer new crop insurance coverage specific to the disease risk to plants in Controlled Environment operations.
- Offer insurance for producer-selected plant categories for Controlled Environment that are not in other nursery insurance program.
- Allow Controlled Environment operations to have single peril Controlled Environment insurance to be purchased as a standalone policy or in conjunction with other nursery insurance.
The first sales closing date is Dec. 1, 2023.
The Controlled Environment program will be available in select counties in Alabama, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
More Information
RMA is holding virtual and in-person informational sessions this month. Learn more.
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 or by contacting your RMA Regional Office.
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, 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 usda.gov.
From Original press release: <https://www.rma.usda.gov/News-Room/Press/Press-Releases/2023-News/USDA-Offers-New-Crop-Insurance-Program-for-Producers-Using-Controlled-Environments>
On July 7, USDA and its partner vendors announced the opening of the application period for Section 22007 of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which directs USDA to provide financial assistance to farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners who experienced discrimination in USDA farm lending programs prior to January 2021. The opening of the application process is an important step in delivering on USDA’s commitment of providing financial assistance to those who have faced discrimination in USDA farm lending programs. The application process is open now and will close on January 13, 2024. Borrowers will have the option to apply for assistance online via 22007apply.gov or through a paper-based form.
Details about the program, including an application and e-filing portal, are available at 22007apply.gov. 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. Applicants can also call the free call center at 1-800-721-0970 or visit one of several dozen brick-and-mortar offices the program has set up around the country. Locations are provided on the program website and vendors will update the local events schedule with more information as it becomes available. It is important to note that filing an application is FREE and does not require a lawyer.
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.
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 January 13, 2024, 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, the 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.
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. The official application process and filling out an application is free and does not require a lawyer.
For more information, please visit 22007apply.gov. If you want to get weekly updates on the program’s events and progress, there’s a button there to subscribe to a weekly newsletter.
The August milk margin triggered the eighth consecutive payment for dairy producers who obtained Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) for the 2023 program year. August’s income over feed margin is $6.46 per hundredweight (cwt.) with projected DMC payments totaling $120 million. To date, including the projected August payments, dairy producers have received more than $1.2 billion in much needed economic support for 2023 and margin forecasts indicate the likelihood of more to come before the end of the calendar year.
DMC is a voluntary risk management program administered by USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) that offers protection to dairy producers when the difference between the all-milk price and the average feed price (the margin) falls below a certain dollar amount selected by the producer.
Additional Dairy Assistance
DMC complements other assistance available to dairy producers, including the Milk Loss Program (MLP) and the Organic Dairy Marketing Assistance Program (ODMAP). MLP covers milk that was dumped or removed, without compensation, from the commercial milk market due to qualifying weather events and the consequences of those weather events that inhibited delivery or storage of milk (e.g., power outages, impassable roads, infrastructure losses, etc.) during calendar years 2020, 2021 and 2022.
USDA recently announced a second round of payments for dairy producers through ODMAP, providing an additional $5 million to help dairy producers with marketing costs to mitigate market volatility, higher input and transportation costs and unstable feed supply and prices that have created unique hardships in the organic dairy industry. FSA has already paid out $15 million in the first round of payments for eligible producers, bringing total ODMAP payments to $20 million.
To learn more about FSA programs, producers can contact their local USDA Service Center.
All Delaware FSA offices will be closed these dates:
Friday, November 10, 2023 = Veterans Day
Thursday, November 23, 2023 = Thanksgiving Day
Monday, December 25, 2023 = Christmas Day
Monday, January 01, 2024 = New Year's Day
| May 15 |
Peas and potato reporting deadline to FSA |
| July 15 |
Spring planted crop reporting deadline to FSA |
| August 15 |
FCIC processing beans crop reporting deadline to FSA |
| October 6 |
Emergency loan application deadline
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| November 20th |
Deadline to file NAP application for Apples, Blueberries, & Peaches
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| December 15 |
Small Grain Crop reporting deadline FSA |
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| **Any crops planted after the deadline have 15 calendar days from the day of planting to report to the county office.** |
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