In This Issue:
Happy Fall! Final field crops are being harvested, leaves have changed and are falling, and we have finally had our first frost. All signs that this season is coming to an end. The weather events this year were severe in parts of the State; late frost, dry spring and planting season, heavy moisture in the summer with heavy flooding, highlighting the vulnerability of our industry and the microclimate and erratic weather events that can affect production and viability. I’m thankful for the mild October!
We were excited to have the FSA Administrator Zach Ducheneaux visit our State twice in the past few months. In Lancaster, where we visited multiple dairy farms, and just a few weeks ago in Philadelphia where we visited with urban producers to talk about land access issues, eligibility for community and educational farms that are training future farmers, farm viability and access to capital. As we expand our table to make sure that we are serving all farmers in our Commonwealth, it is evident that the issues affecting urban farmers are parallel to those affecting our rural farmers who share the common value of nurturing and feeding our communities.
It is with great honor and excitement that we officially opened our Urban USDA Service Center in Philadelphia. FSA Administrator Ducheneaux, NRCS Chief Cosby, NRCS State Conservationist Denise Coleman and I, along with our new partners at the Leon H. Sullivan Trust, officially cut the ribbon in recognition of this landmark occasion.
The FSA State Committee meeting was held, here in Harrisburg, last week. Our discussions were focused on the importance of our farm programs and loans to the viability of farms throughout the State. Keeping in mind that 55 is the average age of Pennsylvania farmers, we think a lot about the outreach opportunities to new and beginning farmers. Secretary Redding, supported by NASS data, has been commenting at recent events that we are first in the Nation for farmers under the age of 35. FSA is thinking about how we continue to support all producers with a focus on new and beginning farmers in both rural and urban areas. Questions come up like, can microloan limits be increased? When there is a disaster, are we making sure that the process for producers to access an emergency loan is less burdensome than the disaster itself? Are we being innovative with loan support for community and educational farms to support new and beginning farmers? How do we increase youth loans in Pennsylvania? Are there flexibilities in our programs that can better serve Pennsylvania farmers? These are a few of the many items discussed during our meetings.
To that end, I continue to visit with County Office personnel, County Committees, and producers in the field to make sure that we are doing everything we can to assist producers within the policies and statutes under which we are currently operating and where we might be able to consider changes and advocate for producers. Last week I visited with the Lackawanna County Committee and this week I will be visiting producers in Carbon and Monroe County. We continue to serve producers in the best way we can, through the work our County Office employees are performing daily, and the support that State Office employees provide throughout the year. I am proud to serve the Biden-Harris Administration and honored to be doing the most important work of supporting Pennsylvania producers and ultimately bolstering our regional and local foodshed.
Let me know how we can better serve you. I would be honored to visit your farm or participate in your event during the winter months. Please contact me if you would like to schedule a visit, a meeting, or a presentation from me or a member of our state or county office team. Your voice matters!
From our farm gate to yours-
Heidi Secord
The U. S Department of Agriculture (USDA) will provide more than $3 billion to commodity and specialty crop producers impacted by natural disaster events in 2022. Eligible impacted producers can apply for financial assistance through the Emergency Relief Program (ERP) 2022. The program will help offset the financial impacts of crop yield and value losses from qualifying disasters occurring in 2022.
Background
On Dec. 29, 2022, President Biden signed into law the Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2023 (P.L. 117-328) that provides about $3.7 billion in financial assistance for agricultural producers impacted by eligible natural disasters that occurred in calendar year 2022.
ERP 2022 covers losses to crops, trees, bushes and vines due to qualifying, calendar year 2022 natural disaster events including wildfires, hurricanes, floods, derechos, excessive heat, tornadoes, winter storms, freeze (including a polar vortex), smoke exposure, excessive moisture, qualifying drought and related conditions.
ERP 2022 program benefits will be delivered to eligible producers through a two-track process. FSA intends to make both tracks available to producers at the same time. This two-track approach enables USDA to:
- Streamline the application process.
- Reduce the paperwork burden on producers.
- Proactively include provisions for underserved producers who have not been well served by past emergency relief efforts.
- Encourage producer participation in existing risk management programs to mitigate the impacts of future severe weather events.
It’s important to note that disaster-impacted producers may be eligible for ERP 2022 assistance under one or both tracks. To avoid duplicative benefits, if a producer applies for both tracks, the Track 2 payment calculation will take into account any payments received through Track 1.
ERP 2022 Application Process – Track 1
ERP 2022 Track 1 leverages existing federal crop insurance or Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) data as the basis for calculating payments for eligible crop producers who received indemnities through these risk management programs. Although FSA is sending pre-filled ERP 2022 Track 1 application forms to producers who have crop insurance and NAP data already on file with USDA, producers indemnified for losses resulting from 2022 natural disasters do not have to wait to receive the application before requesting ERP 2022 assistance. Effective Oct. 31, 2023, producers can apply for ERP 2022 benefits whether they have received the pre-filled application or not. Receipt of a pre-filled application is not confirmation that a producer is eligible to receive an ERP 2022 Track 1 payment.
USDA estimates that ERP Track 1 benefits will reach more than 206,000 producers who received indemnities for losses covered by federal crop insurance and more than 4,500 producers who obtained NAP coverage for the 2022 crop year.
ERP 2022 Application Process – Track 2
Track 2 is a revenue-based certification program designed to assist eligible producers who suffered an eligible decrease in revenue resulting from 2022 calendar year disaster events when compared with revenue in a benchmark year using revenue information that is readily available from most tax records. In cases where revenue does not reasonably reflect a normal year’s revenue, Track 2 provides an alternative method for establishing revenue. Likewise, Track 2 affords producers of crops that are used within an operation and do not generate revenue from the sale of the crop a method for establishing revenue for the purpose of applying for ERP 2022 benefits. Producers are not required to submit tax records to FSA unless requested by the County Committee if required for an FSA compliance spot check.
Although not required when applying for ERP 2022 Track 2, applicants might find the following documents useful to the process:
- Schedule F (Form 1040)
- Profit or Loss from Farming or similar tax documents for tax years 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2023.
Track 2 targets gaps in emergency relief assistance for eligible producers whose eligible losses were not covered by crop insurance or NAP including revenue losses too small (shallow loss) to be covered by crop insurance.
Producers interested in applying for ERP 2022 Track 2, should contact their local FSA county office. Additional reference resources can be found on FSA’s emergency relief website.
Additional Required Forms
For both ERP 2022 tracks, all producers must have certain required forms on file with FSA within 60 days of the ERP 2022 deadline. Producers can apply for ERP 2022 starting Oct. 31, 2023. The application deadline has not yet been determined and will be announced at a later date. If not already on file, producers can update, complete and submit required forms to FSA at any time.
Required forms:
- Form AD-2047, Customer Data Worksheet.
- Form CCC-902, Farm Operating Plan for an individual or legal entity.
- Form CCC-901, Member Information for Legal Entities (if applicable).
- Form FSA-510, Request for an Exception to the $125,000 Payment Limitation for Certain Programs (if applicable).
- Form CCC-860, Socially Disadvantaged, Limited Resource, Beginning and Veteran Farmer or Rancher Certification, if applicable, for the 2022 program year.
- A highly erodible land conservation (sometimes referred to as HELC) and wetland conservation certification (Form AD-1026 Highly Erodible Land Conservation (HELC) and Wetland Conservation (WC) Certification) for the ERP producer and applicable affiliates.
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 the status of their forms can contact their local FSA county office.
Future Insurance Coverage Requirements
All producers who receive ERP 2022 payments must purchase crop insurance, or NAP coverage where crop insurance is not available, in the next two available crop years as determined by the Secretary. Purchased coverage must be at the 60/100 coverage level or higher for insured crops or at the catastrophic coverage level or higher for NAP crops.
More Information
ERP 2022 eligibility details and payment calculation factor tables are available on the emergency relief website, in the ERP Track 1 and ERP Track 2 fact sheets and through your local FSA county office.
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.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has issued more than $1.77 billion this year to agricultural producers and landowners through its Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), a critical piece of the Department’s efforts to support climate-smart agriculture and forestry on working lands. This year, CRP’s more than 667,000 participants received payments from USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) for their voluntary conservation efforts on more than 23 million acres of private land. Since 2021, CRP has grown by 21% in terms of acres enrolled, testament to the Biden-Harris administration’s program improvement efforts.
Top five states for CRP participant payments:
- Iowa, $402,508,900
- Illinois, $172,723,800
- Minnesota, $150,773,400
- South Dakota, $129,545,200
- Missouri, $99,849,600
Improvements to CRP
Since 2021, FSA has made improvements to the program:
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Introducing a new climate-smart practice incentive for CRP general and continuous signups designed to reward participants who implement conservation practices that increase carbon sequestration and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
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Enabling additional soil rental rate adjustments or rate flexibilities, including a possible increase in rates where appropriate.
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Increasing payments for practice incentives from 20% to 50%. This incentive, in addition to cost share payments, for continuous CRP practices is based on establishment cost.
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Increasing payments for water quality practices rates from 10% to 20% for certain water quality benefiting practices available through the CRP continuous signup, such as grassed waterways, riparian buffers and filter strips.
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Establishing a Grassland CRP minimum rental rate benefitting more than 1,000 counties with rates currently below the $13 minimum.
Additionally, FSA made significant improvements to the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) that reduce barriers by making the partnership program more accessible to a broader cross-section of agricultural producers and new conservation partners. These program improvements include the flexibility for partners to provide matching funds in the form of cash, in-kind contributions, or technical assistance and the ability for FSA to invest in additional, full-time staff devoted to working directly with our CREP partners and program specialists in FSA’s state offices.
Since 2021, FSA has also entered into the first-ever Tribal Nations CREP agreements in partnership with the Cheyenne River, Rosebud, and Oglala Sioux Tribes. And in 2022, USDA entered into the Big Sioux River Watershed CREP agreement with the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish & Parks to assist farmers, ranchers and agricultural landowners to
improve water quality, reduce soil erosion, enhance wildlife habitat, and create public hunting and fishing access. These CREP agreements reflect priorities and goals of USDA to broaden the scope and reach of its voluntary, incentive-based conservation programs to engage underserved producers.
FSA’s conservation programs had a strong showing in 2023. FSA partnered with producers and landowners to enroll 3.9 million CRP this year –including 927,000 enrolled acres through General CRP, 2.3 million acres enrolled in Grassland CRP and 694,000 acres enrolled in Continuous CRP. These results underscore the continued importance of CRP as a tool to help producers invest in the long-term health, sustainability, and profitability of their land and natural resources.
More Information
CRP is a voluntary program contract with agricultural producers through which environmentally sensitive agricultural land is devoted to conservation benefits. CRP participants establish long-term, resource-conserving plant species, such as approved grasses or trees to control soil erosion, improve water quality and develop wildlife habitat. In return, FSA provides participants with rental payments and cost-share assistance. Contract duration is between 10 and 15 years.
To learn more about CRP and other FSA programs, producers can contact their local USDA Service Center.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced two tribal higher education opportunities to train the next generation of agricultural professionals and strengthen ties with tribal higher education institutions. The USDA 1994 Tribal Scholars Program offers a fast-track career path with USDA, and the Terra Preta do Indio Tribal Faculty Fellowship engages tribal college faculty with USDA resources and research. These programs reflect USDA’s commitment to advance equity and remove barriers to service for tribal nations and encourage tribal workforce development. Today’s announcement also marks the 29th anniversary of the day legislation was signed to give tribal colleges land-grant status.
Read the full USDA announcement.
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.
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