Punxsutawney Phil is a household name.

Each year, the celebrity groundhog predicts the coming of spring. And each year, thousands of visitors flock to Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, PA to see whether we’ll have an early spring or if we’ll have to endure six more weeks of winter. Well, this year, “Phil” gave us hope and saw his shadow which certainly means spring is closer than it has been in prior years. Right?

In all reality, the sun is rising earlier in the mornings and staying around longer in the evenings and the feeling of spring is in the air, so we know we are getting closer to that special time of year. As we near the period when tractors and planters begin to rumble and the soil is disturbed for the first time in months, it also is a time when stress can creep into your lives. As you may be reading this sitting in your home office or farm shop – or even in the pick-up truck – this is a reminder to take care of yourself. The amount of time you spend preparing for and planting the crop is appreciated by so many, but we also realize the markets, finances, weather and farm and mechanical issues can influence your mindset.

Our partners at Purdue University have a Purdue Extension Farm Stress Team that provides programming and awareness support to help farmers adhere to the day-to-day stresses of operating an agricultural business. A great fact sheet of mental health resources exists. Check it out here: https://extension.purdue.edu/farm_stress/mental-health-resources-1.pdf. And, as always, our FSA offices stand ready to assist you with the decisions you make on your farm about which USDA programs would work best for your operations. Give your local office a call or stop in to make an appointment to learn more!

Again, thank you for what you do for American agriculture and being true American heroes in providing our food, feed, and fuel for our country. Take care of yourselves!

Sincerely in Agriculture,

FSA Presenter: Bridgette Wanhainen is a Henry County Indiana native, a Purdue University graduate, and an FSA farm loan officer who serves east-central Indiana.

To participate in this free, one-hour webinar, click here to access the online registration form. Please pass on this invitation to others you believe may be interested. Contact AgrAbility at 800-825-4264, visit http://www.agrability.org/training-category/upcoming/, or email agrability@agrability.org if you have questions.

Coming later in February, most USDA farm loan borrowers will soon be able to make payments to their direct loans online through the Pay My Loan feature on farmers.gov. Pay My Loan is part of a broader effort by FSA to streamline its processes, especially for producers who may have limited time during the planting or harvest seasons to visit a local FSA office; modernize and improve customer service; provide additional customer self-service tools; and expand credit access to assist more producers. 

On average, local USDA Service Centers process more than 225,000 farm loan payments each year. Pay My Loan gives most borrowers an online repayment option and relieves them from needing to call, mail, or visit a Service Center to pay their loan installment. Farm loan payments can now be made at the borrower’s convenience, on their schedule and outside of FSA office hours. 

Pay My Loan also provides time savings for FSA’s farm loan employees by minimizing manual payment processing activities. This new service for producers means that farm loan employees will have more time to focus on reviewing and processing new loans or servicing requests.

The Pay My Loan feature can be accessed at farmers.gov/loans. To use the payment feature, producers must establish a USDA customer account and a USDA Level 2 eAuthentication (“eAuth”) account or a Login.gov account. This initial release only allows individuals with loans to make online payments. For now, borrowers with jointly payable checks will need to continue to make loan payments through their local office.

FSA has a significant initiative underway to streamline and automate the Farm Loan Program customer-facing business process. For the over 26,000 producers who submit a direct loan application annually, FSA has made various improvements including: 

• The Online Loan Application, an interactive, guided application that is paperless and provides helpful features including an electronic signature option, the ability to attach supporting documents such as tax returns, complete a balance sheet, and build a farm operating plan.
• The Loan Assistance Tool that provides customers with an interactive online, step-by-step guide to identifying the direct loan products that may be a fit for their business needs and to understanding the application process. 

A simplified direct loan paper application, which reduced loan applications by more than half, from 29 pages to 13 pages. 

Farm Service Agency (FSA) is committed to providing our farm loan borrowers the tools necessary to be successful. FSA staff will provide guidance and counsel from the loan application process through the borrower’s graduation to commercial credit. While it is FSA’s commitment to advise borrowers as they identify goals and evaluate progress, it is crucial for borrowers to communicate with their farm loan staff when changes occur. It is the borrower’s responsibility to alert FSA to any of the following:

• Any proposed or significant changes in the farming operation
• Any significant changes to family income or expenses
• The development of problem situations
• Any losses or proposed significant changes in security

If a farm loan borrower can’t make payments to suppliers, other creditors, or FSA on time, contact your farm loan staff immediately to discuss loan servicing options.

For more information on FSA farm loan programs, contact your local USDA Service Center, your Regional Farm Loan Office or visit fsa.usda.gov.

Are you a maple producer?

We are here to support your operation! USDA offers technical expertise and financial assistance to help Indiana maple producers fund their operations, conserve natural resources, and recover from natural disasters.

Maple producers are encouraged to contact their local USDA Service Center to learn about resources to support their operations both during the harvest season and throughout the year. View the Indiana fact sheet or watch this short video to learn more about USDA resources to help fund your operation, conserve natural resources, and support recovery after natural disasters.

Are you gardening or farming in an urban environment or involved in controlled environment agriculture, rooftop farms, hydroponic aeroponic, aquaponic facilities or other types of innovative production?

Agencies across USDA including the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production (OUAIP) have programs and resources available for you, and many are listed in this Urban Agriculture Programs at a Glance brochure.

USDA offers resources to help you:

• Starting, Financing, and Protecting Your Farm or Garden: Our resources can help you access land and capital for equipment and operating costs and start a business plan. USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) offers a variety of funding opportunities and Rural Development (RD) can help urban and innovative producers locate guaranteed financing through the Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan Program. Our Risk Management Agency (RMA) can help you insure your crops against losses, including the micro farm policy. Learn more about USDA programs that support risk management.

• On-Farm Guidance and Innovation: Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) offers technical and financial assistance with conservation planning based on your goals, including high tunnels, soil health management systems, composting facilities and irrigation. Local organizations like Cooperative Extension also offer free training and expertise. OUAIP offers competitive grants for NRCS Conservation Innovation Grants fund innovative on-farm projects, some of which are targeted towards urban and innovative producers.

• Marketing and Selling:  FSA, Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), and Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) can help you reach customers in new ways and open additional revenue streams when selling products. The Women, Infants, Children (WIC) Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program and Seniors Farmers Market Nutrition Program issues coupons for eligible foods from state-approved farmers, farmers' markets, or roadside stands. Farm Storage Facility Loans (FSA) provide low-interest loans to build, upgrade, or purchase permanent or portable facilities to store commodities, including fruit and vegetable cold storage, washing, packing, and handling buildings and equipment.

Farmers Market Promotion Program (FMPP) funds projects that develop, coordinate and expand direct producer-to-consumer markets like farmers markets. Agricultural businesses and cooperative are among the eligible entities.

A first step is to contact your local USDA Service Center, including our new Urban Service Centers, to meet face to face with our staff from FSA and NRCS. If you’re a new farmer, you can also reach out to your state Beginning Farmer and Rancher Coordinator.

We also invite you to get involved with your FSA Urban County Committee, which provides local input on USDA urban agriculture policy, and the Advisory Committee for Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production, which advises the Secretary of Agriculture and holds public meetings.

Sign up for e-mail updates on Urban Agriculture and learn more at farmers.gov/urban or usda.gov/urban.

FSA reminds producers of approaching application deadlines for purchasing risk coverage for some crops through the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP). NAP provides financial assistance to producers of non-insurable crops impacted by natural disasters that result in lower yields, crop losses, or prevented crop planting.

NAP covers losses from natural disasters on crops for which no permanent federal crop insurance program is available, including forage and grazing crops, fruits, vegetables, floriculture, ornamental nursery, aquaculture, turf grass and more.

Indiana has the following NAP Sales Closing Dates:

• March 15 for following annual spring/summer planted crops: beans, beets, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, canola, cantaloupes, carrots, cauliflower, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, greens, herbs, honeydew, lettuce, oats, okra, onions, peas, peppers, potatoes, pumpkins, radishes, sorghum, squash, tomatillos, tomatoes, and watermelons. The list is not all-inclusive.
• May 31 for Nursery (Ornamental Nursery and Nonornamental Propagation Nursery for the Crop Year June 1 - May 31.

NAP basic coverage is available at 55% of the average market price for crop losses that exceed 50% of expected production. Buy-up coverage is available in some cases. NAP offers higher levels of coverage, ranging from 50% to 65% of expected production in 5% increments, at 100% of the average market price. Producers of organic crops and crops marketed directly to consumers also may exercise the “buy-up” option to obtain NAP coverage of 100% of the average market price at coverage levels ranging between 50% and 65% of expected production. Buy-up coverage is not available for crops intended for grazing.

For all coverage levels, the NAP service fee is the lesser of $325 per crop or $825 per producer per county, not to exceed a total of $1,950 for a producer with farming interests in multiple counties. Premiums apply for buy-up coverage.

If a producer has a Socially Disadvantaged, Limited Resource, Beginning and Veteran Farmer or Rancher Certification (form CCC-860) on file with FSA, it may serve as an application for basic coverage for all eligible crops beginning with crop year 2022. These producers will have all NAP-related service fees for basic coverage waived.  These producers may also receive a 50% premium reduction if higher levels of coverage are elected on form CCC-471, prior to the application closing date for each crop.

To learn more about NAP visit fsa.usda.gov/nap or contact your local USDA Service Center.

The Indiana Small Farm Conference serves as the annual educational and farmer-to-farmer networking event for the Indiana small and diversified farm community.

The conference now hosts over 500 attendees, 50 exhibitors, and several national speakers. We look forward to continuing to build this growing conference in partnership with the small and diversified farm community of Indiana!

February 29th - March 1st at the Hendricks County Fairgrounds

Register Online at:

web.cvent.com/event/c257f196-2f17-433c-8c84-7964cdcf2e00/summary

The Indiana Grown program has announced an upcoming Symposium in March 2024, designed for agritourism businesses, farmers, and food-based operators.

The Symposium will be taking place on March 19th at the Hendricks County Fairgrounds in Danville, IN. The event will feature guest presenters, panel discussions and opportunities to meet one-on-one with an Indiana Small Business development agribusiness advisor.

The full event agenda and registration can be found on the Indiana Grown website – www.indianagrown.org or contact Indiana Grown at indianagrown@isda.in.gov for more information.