Important Dates!
Please call to make an appointment to certify your fall crops before Dec 15
11/10/2023- Office Closed for Veteran's Day
11/23/2023- Office Closed for Thanksgiving
12/15/2023- Deadline for Fall Seeded Crops
12/25/2023- Office Closed for Christmas
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Fall activities are in full swing here, with harvest moving right along and cattle being transitioned to new locations. We know you are busy, but please keep these important FSA business items in mind and contact our office for additional information.
· Some of you already are working on the 2024 crop year. The deadline is December 15, 2023, to timely certify with our office any fall-seeded crops. Certification of acres helps maintain your eligibility in 2024 for important programs, so please call our office at (620)241-1836 to complete this process. Also, please remember we’ll take your report of fall-seeded cover crops at the same time.
· If you are an FSA program participant and live in Local Administrative Area 2 (LAA2), you should be receiving a ballot in early November for the FSA County Committee (COC) election. Please take a moment to fill it out and return it by Dec. 4, 2023.
While it may seem early to some, I know there are producers already thinking about the 2024 production season and their financing needs for it. FSA offers direct operating and ownership loans as well as guaranteed loans in partnership with your local lender. If you are struggling to access commercial credit, a loan through FSA might be the right fit for your operation. Contact our FSA farm loan team to begin the conversation.
That’s all for October. Have a Happy Halloween! 
-Cheyenne Veatch, CED
The 2023 Farm Service Agency County Committee Elections will begin on Nov. 6, 2023, when ballots are mailed to eligible voters. The deadline to return ballots to local FSA offices, or to be postmarked, is Dec. 4, 2023.
County committee members are an important component of the operations of FSA and provide a link between the agricultural community and USDA. Farmers and ranchers elected to county committees help deliver FSA programs at the local level, applying their knowledge and judgment to make decisions on commodity price support programs; conservation programs; incentive, indemnity and disaster programs for some commodities; emergency programs and eligibility. FSA committees operate within official regulations designed to carry out federal laws.
To be an eligible voter, farmers and ranchers must:
- Be of legal voting age or, if not of legal voting age, supervise and conduct the farming operation of an entire farm.
- Have an interest in a farm or ranch as either:
- An individual who meets one or more of the following:
- Is eligible and capable to vote in one’s own right.
- Is a partner of a general partnership.
- Is a member of a joint venture.
- Participates or cooperates in any FSA program that is provided by law. A cooperating producer is someone who has provided information to FSA about their farming or ranching operation(s) but may not have applied or received program benefits.
Eligible voters in Local Administrative Area 2, who do not receive a ballot can obtain one from their local FSA county office. Customers can identify which LAA they or their farming operation is in by using our new GIS locator tool available at fsa.usda.gov/elections.
Newly elected committee members will take office Jan. 1, 2024.
The candidates in this year’s election is: Jeremy Erickson
Jeremy resides in LAA #2 with his wife, Chrystal and their one son, Braden. Jeremy is a 4th generation farmer, who has farmed whole life with his uncles and started his own operation in 2002. Jeremy also has a cow/calf operation he manages. In the summer when Jeremy isn’t busy with hauling hay, he enjoys attending local demolition derby’s and shooting clay targets.
Jeremy Erickson is willing to serve if elected.
More information on county committees can be found at fsa.usda.gov/elections or by contacting the McPherson County FSA office.
In order to comply with FSA program eligibility requirements, all producers are encouraged to visit the McPherson County FSA office to file an accurate crop certification report by the applicable deadline.
The following acreage reporting dates are applicable for McPherson County:
December 15, 2023:
Small/Fall grains (wheat, triticale, canola and winter barley) 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.
- If a perennial forage crop is reported with the intended use of “cover only,” “green manure,” “left standing,” or “seed,” then the acreage must be reported by July 15th.
Please call the office at 620-241-1836 for an APPOINTMENT to certify.
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. 620-241-1836
USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has been given a once-in-a-generation opportunity to deliver $19.5 billion in conservation funding through Conservation Technical Assistance, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, the Conservation Stewardship Program, the Regional Conservation Partnership Program, the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program, and for measuring the climate benefits that all this work will achieve. While we have been hard at work in the first year of implementation, we wouldn’t have been able to achieve our current level of success without the thoughtful feedback from our partners.
To that end, we released an Inflation Reduction Act Implementation Request for Information in November 2022. NRCS received over 450 comments that are helping improve our program delivery by removing administrative burdens, streamlining, and expediting program enrollment; building agency and partner capacity to deliver services more quickly; and providing more equitable services. We are using this feedback to expand climate-smart agriculture and forestry activities and refine our measuring, monitoring, reporting and verification of greenhouse gas reduction efforts.
These thoughtful suggestions have helped accelerate our implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act. So far in fiscal year 2023, NRCS is already implementing the majority of recommendations you submitted.
Your feedback and recommendations resulted in some quick wins for NRCS, including:
- Streamlining processes for the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) and the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP). The agency has begun an ongoing RCPP improvement effort, which includes program changes to improve our RCPP portal for partner use, simplifying agreements, and streamlining the reimbursement process. For ACEP, we raised the national appraisal review threshold and have added 22 new certified entities this year.
- Leveraging over $140 million in agreements with partners to deliver increased boots on the ground results, through conservation districts, state agencies, and many other conservation-focused organizations.
- Expanding connections with retired employees through the Association of Retired Conservation Service Employees to provide mentoring to the incoming workforce and added additional senior experienced workers for more workforce capacity.
- Supporting a newly staffed Technical Service Provider (TSP) branch to expedite review of applications and enhance customer service.
- Investing in training staff to increase competency around diversity, equity and inclusion principles.
- Expanding our outreach, resulting in welcoming over 60,000 new customers this year.
- Reviewing NRCS’ recognized Climate Smart Agriculture and Forestry practices and developing an expanded list of practices based on available scientific research.
These changes based on your suggestions are a large part of the reason that NRCS is in such a strong position as we look ahead to the next year of increased funding in fiscal year 2024.
Of course, we recognize that there is more we can do to improve, and we are committed to continuing to do so with your feedback. Additional recommendations you submitted that will significantly improve our delivery of the Inflation Reduction Act will be implemented in the upcoming fiscal years. Be looking for more improvements related to our Technical Service Provider program; our Measuring, Monitoring, Reporting and Verification to quantify carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emission reductions from conservation investments; and our continuing efforts to streamline our programs.
Borrowers with an installment due between 08/01/2022 and 01/15/2024 who have already missed their payment or will not be able to make their upcoming payment, may request assistance under this program. A 2023 Cash Flow and Current Balance Sheet is all that is needed to apply. If Cash Flow is negative the borrower may qualify to get all FSA Direct Loan payments made as long as one payment is due within the 08/01/2022 through 01/15/2024 window. The deadline to apply for assistance is 12/31/2023, however the loan office is encouraging all borrowers to get their requests submitted prior to the end of the government funding continuing resolution which ends 11/17/2023.
Contact your local Farm Loan office for more information. 785-825-8269
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