In This Issue:
As I begin my message this month, I have to say it sure appears March came in more like a lamb than a lion this year, bringing warmer than usual temperatures and vast sunshine. I have heard a few producers mention they have seen someone planting soybeans here and there, but nothing too big. It is hard to believe we are not too far away, from being into the 2024 spring planting season full force. March brings several events and holidays to look forward to and celebrate. Here are just a few:
*Women in History Month
*As most of you know (or for those that did not hear) the University of Illinois Men’s Basketball team are the 2024 Big Ten tournament champions with a 93-87 win over Wisconsin and they advanced to the Sweet 16 Tournament, winning against Iowa State 72-69. Wishing them luck as they advance to the Elite Eight to play UConn – the No.1 team in the country!
*St. Patrick’s Day was celebrated March 17th
*Easter will be celebrated on March 31st
On March 2, 2024, Zach Ducheneaux, Administrator of the USDA’s Farm Service Agency announced, at the National Pheasant Fest, in Sioux Falls, SD that starting March 4, 2024, agricultural producers and private landowners can begin signing up for the general Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) 62. CRP General Signup 62 runs through March 29, 2024.
I would also like to mention that now is the time to be thinking about the Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) Farm Storage Facility Loan (FSFL) program that provides low-interest financing to help you build or upgrade storage facilities and to purchase portable (new or used) structures, equipment and storage and handling trucks.
Eligible commodities include corn, grain sorghum, rice, soybeans, oats, peanuts, wheat, barley, minor oilseeds harvested as whole grain, pulse crops (lentils, chickpeas and dry peas), hay, honey, renewable biomass, fruits, nuts and vegetables for cold storage facilities, floriculture, hops, maple sap, rye, milk, cheese, butter, yogurt, meat and poultry (unprocessed), eggs, and aquaculture (excluding systems that maintain live animals through uptake and discharge of water). Qualified facilities include grain bins, hay barns and cold storage facilities for eligible commodities.
You do not need to demonstrate the lack of commercial credit availability to apply. The loans are designed to assist a diverse range of farming operations, including small and mid-sized businesses, new farmers, operations supplying local food and farmers markets, non-traditional farm products, and underserved producers.
Farm Storage Facility Loan Interest Rates for March 2024
3-year 4.250% 10-year 4.125%
5-year 4.125% 12-year 4.250%
7-year 4.125% 15-year 4.375%
If you would like more information regarding the FSFL program, please read the full article below or contact your local FSA Office today.
This month I would like to mention a few events either myself or other FSA staff members attended and shared information about who we (FSA) are and what we do.
On March 1st FSA attended and participated in the Women Changing the Face of Agriculture (WCFA) at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. The event was attended by over 600 female students interested in agriculture careers upon their graduation. Illinois FSA helped spearhead the original founding of Women Changing the Face of Ag Conference first held in 2010 where 120 female students attended.
I am pleased to say that on March 8th I had the pleasure of speaking and visiting with the Indonesian delegation (23 members and staff) at the Indonesian Consulate General in Chicago. They asked that I speak about agriculture in Illinois. I shared a PowerPoint with both FSA programs and FSA Farm Loans as well as photos of farm equipment, livestock, and crops in Illinois. I talked about beginning farmer opportunities, farm loans, interest rates, direct participation loans, funds for farm storage and farmland purchases.
Stephenson county office employees along with the State office Price Support Program Chief attended the Stateline Beekeepers meeting the evening of March 12th to present the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm Raised Fish disaster program (ELAP). 32 beekeepers were in attendance and had many questions regarding the ELAP program.
ELAP is administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and can cover colony, hive, and feed loss due to eligible adverse weather events for eligible honeybee producers. If you are interested in learning more about this program or other disaster programs available, please contact your local County Farm Service Agency Office.
On March 13th – FSA attended the Professional Agriculture Students (PAS) National Career Conference at Lincoln Land Community College in Springfield. Several students visited the booth and asked FSA employment questions.
On March 18th I traveled to Chicago to the IL Soy Innovation Center grand opening. I was invited to be part of a panel discussion along with Peter Creticos from the Institute for Work & Economy and Barry McGraw at the Airable Research Lab-Ohio Soybean Council. Innovative research allows soybean farmers to not only improve yields and demand, but to also continue to address environmental issues through USDA conservation programs. Their constant research and education, only continues to uphold the interests of all Illinois soybean farmers both now and in the future.
On March 19th – FSA staff attended the Western Illinois All Major Internship and Career Fair on campus in Macomb. A vast number of students visited the FSA career booth and asked many questions.
In closing I would like to thank the Illinois producers for signing up for the ARC/PLC program to complete your enrollment and make any election changes, your extra efforts to get in to the county offices by the March 15th deadline are greatly appreciated.
One final note: as you begin your 2024 spring planting, ALWAYS remember SAFETY first, take some extra time to slow down, take short breaks and stay well hydrated, making certain both you and your family, remain safe on and around the farm.
Also, as stress is an everyday part of everyone’s lives today, I wanted to notate a couple of good resources available for you or anyone you know, who may need some additional help!
Free - Confidential - 24/7 Staffed - Farm Crisis Lifeline CALL OR TEXT 1-833-FARM-SOS (1-833-327-6767)
Illinois Agricultural Mental Health Voucher Program - University of Illinois Extension Illinois Agricultural Mental Health Voucher Program
Sincerely,
Scott Halpin
State Executive Director
Farm Service Agency
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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 where crop insurance is not available.
Purchase 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 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.
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.
For more information, contact your local USDA Service Center or visit fsa.usda.gov.
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 where crop insurance is not available.
Purchase 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 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.
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.
For more information, contact your local USDA Service Center or visit fsa.usda.gov.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today that most farm loan borrowers will soon be able to make payments to their direct loans online through the Pay My Loan feature on farmers.gov in early February. 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 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.
For more information regarding Pay My Loan, contact your local County USDA Service Center or visit fsa.usda.gov.
 Starting February 28th, dairy producers were able to enroll for the 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 February 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.
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 January 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 December 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.
If you have experienced delays in receiving Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) payments, Loan Deficiency Payments (LDPs) and Market Gains on Marketing Assistance Loans (MALs), it may be because you have not filed form CCC-941, Adjusted Gross Income Certification.
If you don’t have a valid CCC-941 on file for the applicable crop year you will not receive payments. All farm operator/tenants/owners who have not filed a CCC-941 and have pending payments should IMMEDIATELY file the form with their recording county FSA office. Farm operators and tenants are encouraged to ensure that their landowners have filed the form.
FSA can accept the CCC-941 for 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024. Unlike the past, you must have the CCC-941 certifying your AGI compliance before any payments can be issued. If you have any questions, please contact your local County FSA Service Center.
The Farm Loan teams are already working on operating loans for spring 2024 and asks potential borrowers to submit their requests early so they can be timely processed. The farm loan teams can help determine which loan programs are best for applicants.
FSA offers a wide range of low-interest loans that can meet the financial needs of any farm operation for just about any purpose. The traditional farm operating and farm ownership loans can help large and small farm operations take advantage of early purchasing discounts for spring inputs as well expenses throughout the year. For more information regarding farm loans and or to apply, please contact your local County FSA Service Center.
Using the correct signature when doing business with FSA can save time and prevent a delay in program benefits.
The following are FSA signature guidelines:
- A married woman must sign her given name: Mrs. Mary Doe, not Mrs. John Doe
- For a minor, FSA requires the minor's signature and one from the minor’s parent
Note, by signing a document with a minor, the parent is liable for actions of the minor and may be liable for refunds, liquidated damages, etc.
When signing on one’s behalf the signature must agree with the name typed or printed on the form or be a variation that does not cause the name and signature to be in disagreement. Example - John W. Smith is on the form. The signature may be John W. Smith or J.W. Smith or J. Smith. Or Mary J. Smith may be signed as Mrs. Mary Joe Smith, M.J. Smith, Mary Smith, etc.
FAXED signatures will be accepted for certain forms and other documents provided the acceptable program forms are approved for FAXED signatures. Producers are responsible for the successful transmission and receipt of FAXED information.
Spouses may sign documents on behalf of each other for FSA and CCC programs in which either has an interest, unless written notification denying a spouse this authority has been provided to the county office.
Spouses cannot sign on behalf of each other as an authorized signatory for partnerships, joint ventures, corporations or other similar entities. Likewise, a spouse cannot sign a document on behalf of the other in order to affirm the eligibility of oneself.
Any member of a general partnership can sign on behalf of the general partnership and bind all members unless the Articles of Partnership are more restrictive. Spouses may sign on behalf of each other’s individual interest in a partnership, unless notification denying a spouse that authority is provided to the county office. Acceptable signatures for general partnerships, joint ventures, corporations, estates, and trusts must consist of an indicator “by” or “for” the individual’s name, individual’s name and capacity, or individual’s name, capacity, and name of entity.
For additional clarification on proper signatures contact your local county FSA office.
 We’re inviting urban producers, innovative producers, and other stakeholders to virtually attend a public meeting of the Federal Advisory Committee for Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production on April 10 from 2-4 p.m. Eastern.
Meeting details can be viewed in the Federal Register Notice. Written comments can be submitted via UrbanAgricultureFederalAdvisoryCommittee@usda.gov by April 24 at 11:59 p.m. The Committee will deliberate and vote on proposed recommendations and address public comments during the meeting. USDA will share the agenda between 24 to 48 hours prior to the meeting on the Committee’s webpage.
The Committee is managed by the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production and was established through the 2018 Farm Bill and is part of a broad USDA investment in urban agriculture.
Learn more or register.
 ELAP provides emergency assistance to eligible livestock, honeybee, and farm-raised fish producers who have losses due to disease, adverse weather or other conditions, such as blizzards and wildfires, not covered by other agricultural disaster assistance programs.
Eligible losses include:
- Livestock - grazing losses not covered under the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP), loss of purchased feed and/or mechanically harvested feed due to an eligible adverse weather event, additional cost of transporting water and feed because of an eligible drought and additional cost associated with gathering livestock to treat for cattle tick fever.
- Honeybee - loss of purchased feed due to an eligible adverse weather event, cost of additional feed purchased above normal quantities due to an eligible adverse weather condition, colony losses in excess of normal mortality due to an eligible weather event or loss condition, including CCD, and hive losses due to eligible adverse weather.
- Farm-Raised Fish - death losses in excess of normal mortality and/or loss of purchased feed due to an eligible adverse weather event.
If you’ve suffered eligible livestock, honeybee, or farm-raised fish losses during calendar year 2024, you must file a notice of loss and an application for payment by January 30, 2025.
Keeping Livestock Inventory Records
Livestock inventory records are necessary in the event of a natural disaster, so remember to keep them updated.
When disasters strike, the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) can help you if you’ve suffered excessive livestock death losses and grazing or feed losses due to eligible natural disasters.
To participate in the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP), you’ll be required to provide verifiable documentation of death losses resulting from an eligible adverse weather event and must submit a notice of loss to your local FSA office no later than 60 calendar days after the end of the calendar year in which the eligible loss condition occurred. For the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-raised Fish Program (ELAP), you must submit a notice of loss to your local FSA office no later than the annual program application deadline of January 30 following the program year in which the loss occurred and should maintain documentation and receipts.
You should record all pertinent information regarding livestock inventory records including:
- Documentation of the number, kind, type, and weight range of livestock
- Beginning inventory supported by birth recordings or purchase receipts.
For more information on documentation requirements, contact your local USDA Farm Service Center at or visit fsa.usda.gov.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will invest about $138 million of financial assistance from President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act—the largest climate investment in history—in 138 new climate-smart conservation easements, through which farmers and ranchers are conserving wetlands, grasslands and prime farmlands. These selected Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) projects are part of a broad investment in climate-smart agriculture and forestry as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda. This year, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) expanded priorities to enable more producers to adopt climate-smart systems, as well as streamline ACEP to speed up assistance for producers. In addition to the climate-change mitigation benefits, ACEP helps safeguard the future of farmers, ranchers, and agricultural communities who depend on and sustain the land as a way of life, especially under a changing climate.
President Biden’s historic Inflation Reduction Act is enabling us to get a record amount of conservation on the ground, including through conservation easements, which give farmers and ranchers the tools they need to protect sensitive landscapes, like wetlands and grasslands, as well as prime farmland. While we welcome these new easements, we have also made improvements to the program to make it work better and faster for agricultural producers and our conservation partners.
These investments also support the President’s America the Beautiful initiative, which is supporting voluntary, locally led, producer-driven conservation efforts across the country.
NRCS offered Inflation Reduction Act funding in both of ACEP’s components: Agricultural Land Easements (ALE) and Wetland Reserve Easements (WRE). For Inflation Reduction Act funding, NRCS prioritized land that will most reduce, capture, avoid or sequester carbon dioxide, methane or nitrous oxide emissions.
NRCS has selected projects addressing these priorities:
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High threat of conversion to a non-grassland use:18 ACEP-ALE projects in seven states – Arizona, California, Montana, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and Wisconsin.
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High threat of conversion to a non-agricultural use:15 ACEP-ALE projects in eight states – Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky, North Carolina, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
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Lands with organic soils and high carbon mineral soils: 26 ACEP-WRE projects in eight states – Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina and Wisconsin.
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Restored native forest habitat: 59 ACEP-WRE projects in eight states – Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi and Missouri.
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Existing native forest habitat:15 ACEP-WRE projects in six states – Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Mississippi and Missouri.
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Restored grassland habitat: 5 ACEP-WRE projects in three states – Indiana, Iowa and Missouri.
These projects are tentatively selected, meaning that NRCS will work with the project applicants to complete eligibility for enrollment.
ACEP and the Inflation Reduction Act
A total of $19.5 billion in additional funding from the Inflation Reduction Act, including $1.4 billion for ACEP, is available over several years for climate-smart agriculture and forestry mitigation activities through NRCS conservation programs.
NRCS began implementing the Inflation Reduction Act in Fiscal Year 2023, which included $2.8 billion in conservation investments, more than any year in the agency’s 89-year history.
To strengthen implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act, NRCS is streamlining ACEP, to ensure that the program is easier and more convenient to use. Specifically, NRCS is streamlining ACEP appraisals, land surveys and certifying eligible entities who help NRCS and producers enroll land into agricultural land easements. Additionally, NRCS is working with partners like Ducks Unlimited, which hired 10 easement acquisition specialists, to help NRCS to increase capacity and acquire more conservation easements.
More Information
ACEP-ALE provides financial assistance to eligible entities, including land trusts and state and local units of government, for purchasing easements that protect the agricultural use and conservation values of eligible land by limiting nonagricultural uses of the land.
ACEP-WRE allows private and Tribal landowners to protect, restore, and enhance wetlands that have been previously degraded due to agricultural uses.
Applications for ACEP and other NRCS conservation programs are accepted on a continuous basis, and customers should apply by state-specific ranking dates to be considered for the next funding cycle.
USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit usda.gov.
 The Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) Farm Storage Facility Loan (FSFL) program provides low-interest financing to help you build or upgrade storage facilities and to purchase portable (new or used) structures, equipment and storage and handling trucks.
Eligible commodities include corn, grain sorghum, rice, soybeans, oats, peanuts, wheat, barley, minor oilseeds harvested as whole grain, pulse crops (lentils, chickpeas and dry peas), hay, honey, renewable biomass, fruits, nuts and vegetables for cold storage facilities, floriculture, hops, maple sap, rye, milk, cheese, butter, yogurt, meat and poultry (unprocessed), eggs, and aquaculture (excluding systems that maintain live animals through uptake and discharge of water). Qualified facilities include grain bins, hay barns and cold storage facilities for eligible commodities.
Loans up to $50,000 can be secured by a promissory note/security agreement, loans between $50,000 and $100,000 may require additional security, and loans exceeding $100,000 require additional security.
You do not need to demonstrate the lack of commercial credit availability to apply. The loans are designed to assist a diverse range of farming operations, including small and mid-sized businesses, new farmers, operations supplying local food and farmers markets, non-traditional farm products, and underserved producers.
For more information, contact your local County USDA Service Center or visit fsa.usda.gov/pricesupport.
 The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is accepting applications for grants to support urban agriculture and innovative production. Applications for USDA’s Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production grants are due April 9, 2024, via grants.gov.
“This grant program has proven very popular and impactful in recent years, and we look forward to partnering with more communities nationwide to strengthen local food systems and increase access to healthy foods. These projects will add to the important work communities are doing to build food security in underserved areas.
Since 2020, UAIP grants have invested more than $46.8 million in 186 projects across the country, and they’re part of USDA’s broad support for urban and innovative producers. UAIP grants are available to a wide range of individuals and entities, including local and Tribal governments, nonprofits, and schools. OUAIP provides grants for two types of projects, Planning Projects and Implementation Projects.
Planning Projects
Planning Projects initiate or expand efforts of farmers, gardeners, citizens, government officials, schools and other stakeholders in urban areas and suburbs. Projects may target areas of food access, education, business and start-up costs for new farmers and the development of plans related to zoning and other needs of urban production. For example, the May James Urban Agriculture Park Planning project in Charlotte, N.C. will address significant issues including food deserts, socio-economic disparities, physical inactivity and nutrition-related health problems by planning an urban agriculture park in an underserved area. In Flagstaff, Ariz. the County of Coconino and partners will develop, implement, and refine a model for community and culturally connected agriculture education to increase engagement in the local food system and increase food security for resident populations in need.
Implementation Projects
Implementation Projects accelerate existing and emerging models of urban, indoor and other agricultural practices that serve farmers and communities. Projects may improve local food access, include collaboration with partner organizations, and support infrastructure needs, emerging technologies, and educational endeavors. For example, Flint River Fresh in Albany, Ga. will bring fresh, healthy food directly to the community and guide residents to self-sufficiency and entrepreneurship through urban agriculture including a new hydroponic greenhouse, a grocery space in a low food-access location and expanded outreach and educational opportunities. Grow It Forward in Manitowoc, Wis. will increase food production and improve access to local healthy food, establish an urban agriculture training program, and expand the capacity of the existing hydroponic farm, community garden, and greenhouse.
More Information
OUAIP was established through the 2018 Farm Bill. It is led by NRCS and works in partnership with numerous USDA agencies that support urban agriculture and innovative production. Other efforts include:
- Administering the People’s Garden Initiative, which celebrates collaborative gardens across the country and worldwide that benefit their communities by growing fresh, healthy food and supporting resilient, local food systems using sustainable practices and providing greenspace.
- Creating and managing a Federal Advisory Committee for Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production to advise the Secretary on the development of policies and outreach relating to urban agriculture.
- Providing cooperative agreements that develop and test strategies for planning and implementing municipal compost plans and food waste reduction plans.
- Investing in risk management education to broaden reach of crop insurance among urban and innovative producers.
- Organizing 27 FSA urban county committees to make important decisions about how FSA farm programs are administered locally. Urban farmers who participate in USDA programs in the areas selected are encouraged to participate by nominating and voting for county committee members.
- Establishing 17 new Urban Service Centers staffed by FSA and NRCS employees where urban producers can access farm loan, conservation, disaster assistance and risk management programs.
- Partnering with the Vermont Law and Graduate School Center for Agriculture and Food Systems to develop resources that help growers understand and work through local policies.
Learn more at usda.gov/urban. For additional resources available to producers, download the Urban Agriculture at a Glance brochure or visit farmers.gov/urban.
USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. Under the Biden-Harris administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy, and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities throughout America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit usda.gov.
Farm Operating Loans - Direct 4.875%
Farm Ownership Loans - Direct 5.250%
Farm Ownership Loans - Direct, Joint Financing 3.250%
Farm Ownership Loans - Direct Down Payment, Beginning Farmer or Rancher 1.500%
Emergency Loans - 3.750%
Farm Storage Facility Loans
3 years - 4.250%
5 years - 4.125%
7 years - 4.125%
10 years - 4.125%
12 years - 4.250%
Commodity Loans - 5.875%
 3/31/24 - Final Date to Request 2023 Crop Year Wheat MAL
4/29/24 - Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) Enrollment Deadline
5/31/24 - Final Date to Request Crop Year Corn, Soybeans, and Grain Sorghum MAL
Ongoing - 2022 ERP Signup
Ongoing - FSL Application
Ongoing - Update Your Records
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