At the farm, our son has installed lots of cameras in the calving barns and the surrounding lots. While I’m at work, I can pull up the app and watch cows calving, the guys feeding chopped hay or shredding straw – technology is amazing! It still didn’t save the calf that a heifer dropped the other night and we found the next morning with the sack still over it’s nose. It was a reminder to me that even if you do everything right – watch cows closely, have the perfect seed bed, try and control your input costs, market your grain at the right time – you can experience hardship on the farm due to events outside our control.
The first event that always comes to mind is the weather. I’ll admit that our February weather, while wonderful to be out in, worried me. Where was the moisture we need to fill stock dams? I was starting to see fields blowing in my commute to Fargo. The drought monitor shows dryness expanding in the southeast part of the state. Fortunately, we have several programs at FSA that help when the weather decides to upset our carefully planned apple carts (if you don’t understand that analogy – you must be young!). The Livestock Forage Program (LFP) will assist with grazing losses due to drought; the Emergency Livestock Assistance Program (ELAP) covers weather grazing losses and will help with transporting feed and water to animals and/or animals to feed and water. Crop insurance, while not an FSA program, helps provide a safety net to cover our high input costs. It’s very important to keep up to date by reading the monthly FSA newsletter and your county newsletter so that you keep abreast of programs that may become available as the year progresses.
Another event out of our control is interest rates. We’ve seen a sharp climb in rates over the last year and a half – I’m hoping they will start to dip later this year but until then, we still need to pay our land rent, buy inputs; repair or trade equipment; etc. At FSA, we have many loan options available whether you need direct or guaranteed operating loans or if you want to make capital purchases. You may want to check out our Farm Storage Facility Loan program where we can help you buy not only bins and dryer systems for storing your commodities but also equipment needed to move your commodities like semis and trailers. We’ve added new online options for loan applications – they can be found at Loan Assistance Tool / Home (usda.gov). Check out the loan rates for March included in this newsletter.
The best antidote to worry is knowing that there are options available to help when things outside of our control happen. We are here to help! Just a quick reminder – please come in as soon as possible and sign up for the ARC/PLC program – deadline is March 15th! Until next month – please take care and be safe.
- Marcy Svenningsen
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Laura Heinrich and Ron Haugen discussed the ins and outs of the Emergency Relief Program Track One and Track Two. You can watch the full webinar here: Emergency Relief Program (ERP) 2022 - YouTube
Agricultural producers who have not yet enrolled in the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) or Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs for the 2024 crop year have until March 15, 2024, to revise elections and sign contracts. Both safety net programs, delivered by USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), provide vital income support to farmers who experience substantial declines in crop prices or revenues for the 2024 crop year. In North Dakota, producers completed 22,700 contracts to date, representing 36% of the more than 63,900 expected contracts.
“Agriculture Risk Coverage or Price Loss Coverage programs provide excellent risk protection, for market declines, at no cost to the producer. While we always hope for strong markets, anyone involved in production agriculture knows, the only thing certain is uncertainty,” said Marcy Svenningsen, State Executive Director for FSA in North Dakota. “Many producers may be holding off on making your program elections pending planting decisions or maybe you’re working with utilizing NDSU’s ARC/PLC calculators to consider how recent crop price declines might impact your election decisions. Please contact your local FSA county office as soon as possible to set an appointment so you’re on the books well in advance of the March 15 deadline.”
Producers can elect coverage and enroll in ARC-County or PLC, which provide crop-by-crop protection, or ARC-Individual, which protects the entire farm. Although election changes for 2024 are optional, producers must enroll, with a signed contract, each year. If a producer has a multi-year contract on the farm, the contract will continue for 2024 unless an election change is made.
If producers do not submit their election revision by the March 15, 2024, deadline, the election remains the same as their 2023 election for eligible commodities on the farm. Also, producers who do not complete enrollment and sign their contract by the deadline will not be enrolled in ARC or PLC for the 2024 year and will not receive a payment if one is triggered. Farm owners can only enroll in these programs if they have a share interest in the commodity.
Producers are eligible to enroll farms with base acres for the following commodities: barley, canola, large and small chickpeas, corn, crambe, flaxseed, grain sorghum, lentils, mustard seed, oats, peanuts, dry peas, rapeseed, long grain rice, medium and short grain rice, safflower seed, seed cotton, sesame, soybeans, sunflower seed and wheat.
Web-Based Decision Tools
Many universities, including North Dakota State University, offer web-based decision tools to help producers make informed, educated decisions using crop data specific to their respective farming operations. Producers are encouraged to use the tool of their choice to support their ARC and PLC elections.
Crop Insurance Considerations
Producers are reminded that enrolling in ARC or PLC programs can impact eligibility for some crop insurance products offered by USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA). Producers who elect and enroll in PLC also have the option of purchasing Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO) through their Approved Insurance Provider, but producers of covered commodities who elect ARC are ineligible for SCO on their planted acres.
Unlike SCO, RMA’s Enhanced Coverage Option (ECO) is unaffected by participating in ARC for the same crop, on the same acres. You may elect ECO regardless of your farm program election.
Upland cotton farmers who choose to enroll seed cotton base acres in ARC or PLC are ineligible for the stacked income protection plan, or STAX, on their planted cotton acres.
More Information
For more information on ARC and PLC, producers can visit the ARC and PLC webpage or contact their local USDA Service Center. Producers can also prepare maps for acreage reporting as well as manage farm loans and view other farm records data and customer information by logging into their farmers.gov account. If you don’t have an account, sign up today.
Farmers and ranchers rely on crop insurance to protect themselves from disasters and unforeseen events, but not all crops are insurable through the USDA’s Risk Management Agency. The Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) provides producers another option to obtain coverage against disaster for these crops. NAP provides financial assistance to producers of non-insurable crops impacted by natural disasters that result in lower yields, crop losses, or prevents crop planting.
Commercially produced crops and agricultural commodities for which crop insurance is not available are generally eligible for NAP. Eligible crops include those grown specifically for food, fiber, livestock consumption, biofuel or biobased products, or value loss crops such as aquaculture, Christmas trees, ornamental nursery, and others. Contact your local FSA office to see which crops are eligible in your state and county.
Eligible causes of loss include drought, freeze, hail, excessive moisture, excessive wind or hurricanes, earthquake and flood. These events must occur during the NAP policy coverage period, before or during harvest, and the disaster must directly affect the eligible crop. For guidance on causes of loss not listed, contact your local FSA county office.
Interested producers apply for NAP coverage using FSA form CCC-471, “Application for Coverage,” and pay the applicable service fee at the FSA office where their farm records are maintained. These must be filed by the application closing date, which varies by crop. Contact your local FSA office to verify application closing dates and ensure coverage for eligible NAP crops.
At the time of application, each producer acknowledges they have received the NAP Basic Provisions, which describes NAP requirements for coverage. NAP participants must report crop acreage shortly after planting and provide verifiable or reliable crop production records when required by FSA.
Producers are required to pay service fees which vary depending on the number of crops and number of counties your operation is located in. The NAP service fee is the lesser of $325 per crop or $825 per producer per administrative county, not to exceed a total of $1,950 for a producer with farming interests in multiple counties. Premiums also apply when producers elect higher levels of coverage with a maximum premium of $15,750 per person or legal entity.
A producer’s certification on Form CCC-860 Socially Disadvantaged, Limited Resource, Beginning and Veteran Farmer or Rancher Certification may serve as an application for basic NAP coverage for all eligible crops beginning with crop year 2022. These producers will have all NAP-related service fees for basic coverage waived, in addition to a 50 percent premium reduction if higher levels of coverage are elected.
For more detailed information on NAP, download the NAP Fact Sheet. To get started with NAP, we recommend you contact your local USDA service center.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that agricultural producers and private landowners can begin signing up for the general Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) starting March 4 and running through March 29, 2024. This conservation opportunity gives producers tools to conserve wildlife habitat while achieving other conservation benefits, including sequestering carbon and improving water quality and soil health.
“The USDA has a long track record of fostering and supporting the vital relationship between agriculture and conservation, and the Conservation Reserve Program helps our producers be good stewards of their lands and boost wildlife populations at the same time,” said Marcy Svenningsen, FSA State Executive Director in North Dakota. “These efforts demonstrate the power of USDA’s Farm Bill conservation programs to conserve wildlife habitat, protect clean water and address climate change in partnership with farmers, ranchers, and conservation organizations across the country.”
On Nov. 16, 2023, President Biden signed into law H.R. 6363, the Further Continuing Appropriations and Other Extensions Act, 2024 (Pub. L. 118-22), which extended the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (Pub. L. 115-334), more commonly known as the 2018 Farm Bill, through Sept. 30, 2024. This extension allows authorized programs, including CRP, to continue operating. FSA will announce the dates for Grassland CRP signup in the near future.
As one of the largest private lands conservation programs in the United States, CRP offers a range of conservation options to farmers, ranchers, and landowners. It has been an especially strong opportunity for farmers with less productive or marginal cropland, helping them re-establish valuable land cover to help improve water quality, prevent soil erosion, and support wildlife habitat.
Producers and landowners enrolled about 926,000 acres in General CRP in 2023, bringing the total of enrolled acres in General CRP to 7.78 million. This, combined with all other acres in CRP through other enrollment opportunities, such as Grassland and Continuous CRP, bring the current total of enrolled acres to 24.8 million.
General CRP
General CRP helps producers and landowners establish long-term, resource-conserving plant species, such as approved grasses or trees, to control soil erosion, improve water quality and enhance wildlife habitat on cropland. Additionally, General CRP includes a Climate-Smart Practice Incentive to help increase carbon sequestration and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by helping producers and landowners establish trees and permanent grasses, enhance wildlife habitat, and restore wetlands.
General CRP is one of several ways agricultural producers and private landowners can participate in the program.
Other CRP Options
This past January FSA began accepting applications for the Continuous CRP signup. Under this enrollment, producers and landowners can enroll in CRP throughout the year. Offers are automatically accepted provided the producer and land meet the eligibility requirements and the enrollment levels do not exceed the statutory cap.
Producers with expiring CRP acres can use the Transition Incentives Program (TIP), which incentivizes producers who sell or enter a long-term lease with a beginning, veteran, or socially disadvantaged farmer or rancher who plans to sustainably farm or ranch the land.
How to Sign Up
Landowners and producers interested in CRP should contact their local USDA Service Center to learn more or to apply for the program before their deadlines.
USDA has announced that most farm loan borrowers can 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 USDA’s Farm Service Agency (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 215,000 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. 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 borrowers operating as individuals 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.
Looking for ways to do business with USDA that saves you time? Look no further than farmers.gov.
When you create a farmers.gov account for the farmers.gov authenticated site, you have access to self-service features through a secure login. Managing your business with the Farm Service Agency (FSA) and the National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is faster than ever. From e-signing documents, viewing, printing, and exporting maps and receiving notifications of payment disbursements, a farmers.gov authenticated account makes doing business with USDA easy and secure.
What can you do with your farmers.gov account?
- Submit a Direct Farm Loan application. This tool and other process improvements allow farmers and ranchers to submit complete loan applications. Helpful features include an electronic signature option, the ability to attach supporting documents such as tax returns, complete a balance sheet, and build a farm operating plan.
- View NRCS Disbursements and Farm Loans financial activity from the past 180 days.
- View, print and export detailed farm records and farm/tract maps.
- Export common land unit (field) boundaries as ESRI and GeoJSON file types.
- Import precision agriculture planting boundaries, create labels containing crop information, and print both on farm tract maps.
- Use the draw tools to determine acres in an area of interest that can be printed on a map and provided to a third party or exported as a feature file for use in other geospatial applications.
- View, upload, download and e-sign NRCS documents.
- Request conservation and financial assistance, including submitting a program application.
- Access information on current and past conservation practices, report practice completion and request practice certification
- View detailed information on previous and ongoing contracts, including the amount of cost- share assistance received and request contract modifications.
- View Farm Loan Program loans: View Farm Loan principal and interest balances, payment history, loan terms, and download interest statements.
How do you create a farmers.gov account?
To create a farmers.gov account you will need:
- A USDA individual customer record - A customer record contains information you have given to USDA to do business with them, like your name, address, phone number, and any legal representative authority relationships.
- A login.gov account – Login.gov is a sign-in service that gives people secure online access to participating government programs.
- Customers who are new to USDA should visit Get Started at Your USDA Service Center, then go to gov/account to create a farmers.gov account.
In addition to the self-service features, farmers.gov also has information on USDA programs, farm loans, disaster assistance, conservation programs and crop insurance.
The FSFL program provides low-interest financing to build or upgrade storage facilities and to purchase portable (new or used) structures, equipment including on-farm liquified petroleum tanks for eligible commodities for use as fuel storage for grain dryer equipment.
Loans up to $100,000 can be secured by a promissory note/security agreement. Loans or aggregate loan totals exceeding $100,000 require additional security in the form of real estate or an irrevocable letter of credit. Participants are required to provide a down payment of 15 percent, with CCC providing a loan for the remaining 85 percent of the eligible net cost of the storage facility and permanent drying and handling equipment. Loan terms of 3, 5, 7, 10 or 12 years are available depending on the amount of the loan and loan type. Interest rates for each term rate may be different and are based on the rate which CCC borrows from the Treasury Department.
Sign-up for the FSFL program is continuous throughout the year. All requests for FSFL prior to loan approval require a site inspection for an environmental assessment in accordance to National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA) requirements showing no adverse impacts. FSFL policy requires the following actions cannot occur at the proposed FSFL location prior to the environmental assessment being completed:
- accepting delivery of equipment and/or materials in previously undisturbed areas
- site preparation or foundation construction in previously undisturbed areas
- no alteration to any structures that are 50 years old or older or within a historic district
If any of the above are completed prior to FSA completing the on-site assessment, the approval of the FSFL may be delayed and/or ineligible.
Producers considering an FSFL loan for the 2024 harvest season are encouraged to contact their local FSA office early to learn more concerning the application processing requirements.
The Farm Service Agency (FSA) is accepting offers for specific conservation practices under the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) Continuous Signup.
In exchange for a yearly rental payment, farmers enrolled in the program agree to remove environmentally sensitive land from agricultural production and to plant species that will improve environmental health and quality. The program’s long-term goal is to re-establish valuable land cover to improve water quality, prevent soil erosion, and reduce loss of wildlife habitat. Contracts for land enrolled in CRP are 10-15 years in length.
Under CRP signup, environmentally sensitive land devoted to certain conservation practices can be enrolled in CRP at any time. Offers for continuous enrollment are not subject to competitive bidding during specific periods. Instead, they are automatically accepted provided the land and producer meet certain eligibility requirements and the enrollment levels do not exceed the statutory cap.
For more information, including a list of acceptable practices, contact your local County USDA Service Center at fsa.usda.gov/crp.
Producers planning to use the commodity loan program for their 2023 crops are reminded that March 31, 2024, is the deadline for filing applications for the following crops: wheat, barley, oats, canola, crambe, flaxseed, rapeseed, sesame seed and honey. Since March 31st is a non-workday, the deadline is extended to April 1, 2024.
These loans can be repaid with cash at disbursement up until loan maturity. To be eligible, producers must have produced an eligible loan commodity during the applicable crop year, complied with annual program requirements, maintain beneficial interest (have title to the commodity and retain control of the commodity), request a marketing assistance loan (MAL) on or before the final loan availability date for a specific commodity, and, if required, submit lien waivers for any liens existing on the crop for which MAL is being requested.
Producers interested in a commodity loan on the above listed commodities should contact their local county FSA office staff prior to the March 31 deadline. The 2023 crop commodity loan rates are available at any county FSA office, or online at:
http://www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA and clicking on the “Price Support” link.
The USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) recently made several policy updates for acreage reporting for cover crops, revising intended use, late-filed provisions, grazing allotments as well as updated the definitions of “idle” and “fallow.”
Reporting Cover Crops:
Cover crop types can be chosen from the following four categories:
- Cereals and other grasses
- Legumes
- Brassicas and other broadleaves
- Mixtures
If the cover crop is harvested for any use other than forage or grazing and is not terminated according to policy guidelines, then that crop will no longer be considered a cover crop and the acreage report must be revised to reflect the actual crop.
Permitted Revision of Intended use After Acreage Reporting Date:
New operators or owners who pick up a farm after the acreage reporting deadline has passed and the crop has already been reported on the farm, have 30 calendar days from the date when the new operator or owner acquired the lease on land, control of the land or ownership and new producer crop share interest in the previously reported crop acreage. Under this policy, appropriate documentation must be provided to the County Committee’s satisfaction to determine that a legitimate operator or ownership and producer crop share interest change occurred to permit the revision.
Acreage Reports:
In order to maintain program eligibility and benefits, you must timely file acreage reports. Failure to file an acreage report by the crop acreage reporting deadline may result in ineligibility for future program benefits. FSA will not accept acreage reports provided more than a year after the acreage reporting deadline.
Reporting Grazing Allotments:
FSA offices can now accept acreage reports for grazing allotments. You will use form “FSA-578” to report grazing allotments as animal unit months (AUMs) using the “Reporting Unit” field. Your local FSA office will need the grazing period start and end date and the percent of public land.
Definitions of Terms
FSA defines “idle” as cropland or a balance of cropland within a Common Land Unit (CLU) (field/subfield) which is not planted or considered not planted and does not meet the definition of fallow or skip row.
Fallow is considered unplanted cropland acres which are part of a crop/fallow rotation where cultivated land that is normally planted is purposely kept out of production during a regular growing season.
For more information, contact your local County USDA Service Center or visit fsa.usda.gov.
Payments to Begin Early March
Starting February 28, dairy producers will be able to enroll for 2024 Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC), an important safety net program offered through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that provides producers with price support to help offset milk and feed price differences. This year’s DMC signup begins Feb. 28, 2024, and ends April 29, 2024. For those who sign up for 2024 DMC coverage, payments may begin as soon as March 4, 2024, for any payments that triggered in January 2024.
USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) has revised the regulations for DMC to allow eligible dairy operations to make a one-time adjustment to established production history. This adjustment will be accomplished by combining previously established supplemental production history with DMC production history for those dairy operations that participated in Supplemental Dairy Margin Coverage during a prior coverage year. DMC has also been authorized through calendar year 2024. Congress passed a 2018 Farm Bill extension requiring these regulatory changes to the program.
“FSA is announcing the sign up for 2024 Dairy Margin Coverage. We encourage producers to enroll in this important safety net program. In reviewing 2023 margins and the more than $1.2 billion in Dairy Margin Coverage payments issued to producers, Dairy Margin Coverage is proven to be a program to reduce risk for our dairy producers,” said FSA Administrator Zach Ducheneaux. “If 2023 taught us anything, it’s that we honestly have no idea what will happen in the market in any given year. Producers who took advantage of this affordable risk management tool for the 2023 program year, were able to mitigate some financial impacts on their operations. At $0.15 per hundredweight for $9.50 coverage, risk protection through Dairy Margin Coverage is a relatively inexpensive investment in a true sense of security and peace of mind.”
DMC is a voluntary risk management program 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. In 2023, Dairy Margin Coverage payments triggered in 11 months including two months, June and July, where the margin fell below the catastrophic level of $4.00 per hundredweight, a first for Dairy Margin Coverage or its predecessor Margin Protection Program.
2024 DMC Coverage and Premium Fees
FSA has revised DMC regulations to extend coverage for calendar year 2024, which is retroactive to Jan. 1, 2024, and to provide an adjustment to the production history for dairy operations with less than 5 million pounds of production. In previous years, smaller dairy operations could establish a supplemental production history and receive Supplemental Dairy Margin Coverage. For 2024, dairy producers can establish one adjusted base production history through DMC for each participating dairy operation to better reflect the operation’s current production.
For 2024 DMC enrollment, dairy operations that established supplemental production history through Supplemental Dairy Margin Coverage for coverage years 2021 through 2023, will combine the supplemental production history with established production history for one adjusted base production history.
For dairy operations enrolled in 2023 DMC under a multi-year lock-in contract, lock-in eligibility will be extended until Dec. 31, 2024. In addition, dairy operations enrolled in multi-year lock-in contracts are eligible for the discounted DMC premium rate during the 2024 coverage year. To confirm 2024 DMC lock-in coverage or opt out in favor of an annual contract for 2024, dairy operations having lock-in contracts must enroll during the 2024 DMC enrollment period.
DMC offers different levels of coverage, even an option that is free to producers, minus a $100 administrative fee. The administrative fee is waived for dairy producers who are considered limited resource, beginning, socially disadvantaged or a military veteran. To determine the appropriate level of DMC coverage for a specific dairy operation, producers can use the online dairy decision tool.
DMC Payments
DMC payments are calculated using updated feed and premium hay costs, making the program more reflective of actual dairy producer expenses. These updated feed calculations use 100% premium alfalfa hay.
More Information
USDA also offers other risk management tools for dairy producers, including the Dairy Revenue Protection (DRP) plan that protects against a decline in milk revenue (yield and price) and the Livestock Gross Margin (LGM) plan, which provides protection against the loss of the market value of milk minus the feed costs. Both DRP and LGM livestock insurance policies are offered through the Risk Management Agency. Producers should contact their local crop insurance agent for more information.
For more information on DMC, visit the DMC webpage or contact your local USDA Service Center.
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Producers who received an Emergency Relief Program (ERP) payment need to meet ERP insurance linkage requirements by purchasing crop insurance or Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) coverage at the 60/100 level or higher for the next two available crop years, which will be determined from the date you received an ERP payment and may vary depending on the timing and availability of coverage. The insurance coverage requirement applies to the physical location of the county where the crop was located and for which an ERP payment was issued.
The next two available crop years are determined from the date you received your ERP payment. Example: Producer G received ERP benefits for 2021 rye losses and received an ERP payment in June of 2022. The sales closing date to purchase insurance for the 2023 crop year is September 30, 2022. Based on the date Producer G received ERP benefits, and the sales closing date for the crop, the next 2 available crop years for Producer G are 2023 and 2024.
The coverage requirement is applicable to the crop and the specific physical location of that crop. Please refer to your ERP application to identify crops for which you received an ERP payment. Questions about physical location can be directed to your local county FSA office.
Failure to meet the linkage requirement will require you to refund ERP payments received on the applicable crop(s), plus interest.
Contact your crop insurance agent or local FSA county office as soon as possible to ask about coverage options. Producers who do not obtain the applicable coverage by the sales/application closing date will be required to refund the ERP benefits received on the applicable crop, plus interest. To determine which crops are eligible for federal crop insurance or NAP, visit the RMA website.
FSA and NRCS program applicants for benefits are required to submit a completed CCC-902 (Farming Operation Plan) and CCC-941 Average Gross Income (AGI) Certification and Consent to Disclosure of Tax Information for FSA to determine the applicant’s payment eligibility and establish the maximum payment limitation applicable to the program applicant.
Participants are not required to annually submit new CCC-902s for payment eligibility and payment limitation purposes unless a change in the farming operation occurs that may affect the previous determination of record. A valid CCC-902 filed by the participant is considered to be a continuous certification used for all payment eligibility and payment limitation determinations applicable for the program benefits requested.
Participants are responsible for ensuring that all CCC-902 and CCC-941 and related forms on file in the county office are updated, current, and correct. Participants are required to timely notify the county office of any changes in the farming operation that may affect the previous determination of record by filing a new or updated CCC-902 as applicable.
Changes that may require a NEW determination include, but are not limited to, a change of:
- Shares of a contract, which may reflect:
- A land lease from cash rent to share rent
- A land lease from share rent to cash rent (subject to the cash rent tenant rule
- A modification of a variable/fixed bushel-rent arrangement
- The size of the producer’s farming operation by the addition or reduction of cropland that may affect the application of a cropland factor
- The structure of the farming operation, including any change to a member's share
- The contribution of farm inputs of capital, land, equipment, active personal labor, and/or active personal management
- Farming interests not previously disclosed on CCC-902 including the farming interests of a spouse or minor child
- Certifications of average AGI are required to be filed annually for participation in an annual USDA program. For multi-year conservation contracts and NRCS easements, a certification of AGI must be filed prior to approval of the contract or easement and is applicable for the duration of the contract period.
Participants are encouraged to file or review these forms within the deadlines established for each applicable program for which program benefits are being requested.
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)
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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. FSA started accepting applications on 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.
Program payments may be limited by direct attribution to individuals or entities. A legal entity is defined as an entity created under Federal or State law that owns land or an agricultural commodity, product or livestock. Through direct attribution, payment limitation is based on the total payments received by a person or legal entity, both and indirectly. Qualifying spouses are eligible for a separate payment limitation.
Payments and benefits under certain FSA programs are subject to some or all of the following:
- payment limitation by direct attribution (including common attribution)
- payment limitation amounts for the applicable programs
- substantive change requirements when a farming operation adds persons, resulting in an increase in persons to which payment limitation applies
- actively engaged in farming requirements
- cash-rent tenant rule
- foreign person rule
- average AGI limitations
- programs subject to AGI limitation
No program benefits subject to payment eligibility and limitation will be provided until all required forms for the specific situation are provided and necessary payment eligibility and payment limitation determinations are made. Payment eligibility and payment limitation determinations may be initiated by the County Committee or requested by the producer.
Statutory and Regulatory rules require persons and legal entities, provide the names and Tax Identification Numbers (TINs) for all persons and legal entities with an ownership interest in the farming operation to be eligible for payment.
Payment eligibility and payment limitation forms submitted by persons and legal entities are subject to spot check through FSA’s end-of-year review process.
Persons or legal entities selected for end-of-year review must provide the County Committee with operating loan documents, income and expense ledgers, canceled checks for all expenditures, lease and purchase agreements, sales contracts, property tax statements, equipment listings, lease agreements, purchase contracts, documentation of who provided actual labor and management, employee time sheets or books, crop sales documents, warehouse ledgers, gin ledgers, corporate or entity papers, etc.
A finding that a person or legal entity is not actively engaged in farming results in the person or legal entity being ineligible for any payment or benefit subject to the actively engaged in farming rules.
Noncompliance with AGI provisions, either by exceeding the applicable limitation or failure to submit a certification and consent for disclosure statement, will result in payment ineligibility for all program benefits subject to AGI provisions. Program payments are reduced in an amount that is commensurate with the direct and indirect interest held by an ineligible person or legal entity in any legal entity, general partnership, or joint operation that receives benefits subject to the average AGI limitations.
If any changes occur that could affect an actively engaged in farming, cash-rent tenant, foreign person, or average Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) determination, producers must timely notify the County FSA Office by filing revised farm operating plans and/or supporting documentation, as applicable. Failure to timely notify the County Office may adversely affect payment eligibility.
Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contract holders are encouraged to transition their CRP acres to beginning, veteran or socially disadvantaged farmers or ranchers through the Transition Incentives Program (TIP). TIP provides annual rental payments to the landowner or operator for up to two additional years after the CRP contract expires.
CRP contract holders no longer need to be a retired or retiring owner or operator to transition their land. TIP participants must agree to sell, have a contract to sell, or agree to lease long term (at least five years) land enrolled in an expiring CRP contract to a beginning, veteran, or socially disadvantaged farmer or rancher who is not a family member.
Beginning, veteran or social disadvantaged farmers and ranchers and CRP participants may enroll in TIP beginning two years before the expiration date of the CRP contract. The TIP application must be submitted prior to completing the lease or sale of the affected lands. New landowners or renters that return the land to production must use sustainable grazing or farming methods.
For more information, contact your local County USDA Service Center at fsa.usda.gov.
To help reduce deaths caused by unintentional injury, NDSU Extension and the NDSU School of Nursing have partnered to offer free, Stop the Bleed trainings for residents of rural communities across North Dakota. Nursing faculty have traveled to North Dakota counties and worked with NDSU Extension agents to conduct the trainings.
Stop the Bleed is a nationally recognized, 90-minute certification program, providing participants with hands-on opportunities to recognize life-threatening bleeding and intervene effectively by properly using a tourniquet in the event of blood loss caused by an injury.
Location details for each session and registration is available at bit.ly/STBcountyregistration.
Farm Storage Facility Loan, 3-year term: 4.250%
Farm Storage Facility Loan, 5-year term: 4.125%
Farm Storage Facility Loan, 7-year term: 4.125%
Farm Storage Facility Loan, 10-year term: 4.125%
Farm Storage Facility Loan, 12-year term: 4.250%
Commodity Loans: 5.875%
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