March is the month the nation pauses to recognize our farmers and ranchers through National Ag Day, which this year was March 19. The Otoe County FSA would like to thank you, our farmer and rancher customers, for all you do to raise the food, fuel and fiber we all need, while taking care of our natural resources at the same time. We appreciate you.
The deadline was March 15 for Agriculture Risk Coverage/Price Loss Coverage (ARC/PLC) program enrollment for 2024. Thanks to everyone for their assistance and patience as we worked to get folks through this process. Please respond to any follow-up calls or emails from our office as we work to finalize program materials. At this link, you’ll find a short survey we ask you to consider answering. It asks about the educational resources FSA and University of Nebraska Extension organized during the ARC/PLC enrollment period. This survey is voluntary and will be used to help us improve outreach on these programs in the future.
We are in the middle of the contract offer period for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) General Signup for 2024. The deadline to submit offers is March 29. If you are interested in CRP, please contact our office as soon as possible to begin the application process.
It’s calving season, which we know can make for some long days and nights. However, please remember that now is a good time to ensure record keeping is a part of your calving process. Records are critical in the event disaster strikes and you need to apply for assistance through the Livestock Indemnity Program. Thorough records help us be able to help you.
For those of you who are current FSA farm loan customers, our county office farm loan team wants to call to your attention the new Pay My Loan online feature. This tool allows individuals with certain FSA loans to access their loan information online, make an online payment, and a few other key options. You will need a farmers.gov account with security clearance to use this tool. You can learn more about it by visiting www.farmers.gov/loans or asking your FSA loan team.
That’s all for this month. Talk to you in April.
--Raela Brandt
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March 29, 2024 – FSA deadline for contract offers for 2024 Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) General Signup
April 29, 2024 – FSA deadline for applications for the Dairy Margin Coverage Program
May 27, 2024 – USDA Service Centers closed for federal holiday
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Maps are now available at the Otoe County FSA Office for acreage reporting purposes. If you wish to receive your maps by e-mail, please call our office or email Matt Weddingfeld at matthew.weddingfeld@usda.gov.
In order to maintain program eligibility and benefits, you must file timely acreage reports. Failure to file an acreage report by the crop acreage reporting deadline may cause ineligibility for future program benefits. FSA will not accept acreage reports provided more than a year after the acreage reporting deadline.
Producers are encouraged to file their acreage reports as soon as planting is completed.
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Producers of wool, mohair and unshorn pelts in Otoe County may be eligible for Loan Deficiency Payments (LDPs) through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA).
LDPs, along with Marketing Assistance Loans (MALs), are marketing tools available to producers beginning upon shearing.
MALs help producers meet cash flow needs without selling commodities when market prices are at market lows. Producers who are eligible for marketing loans, but choose to forgo the loan, are eligible for LDPs if the posted county price falls below the county loan rate. Producers also can purchase a commodity certificate that may be exchanged for the outstanding loan collateral. Unshorn pelts are not eligible for MALs. Producers can check LDP rates on the USDA Price Support page.
Eligibility Requirements
For a commodity to be eligible for a loan, LDP, or certificate, the producer must have beneficial interest in the commodity, defined as having title, possession and control of the commodity, and responsible for loss of or damage to the commodity. All related application forms must be completed at the local FSA office prior to loss of beneficial interest. Other eligibility requirements may apply; consult your local FSA office for more information.
Marketing assistance loans are available for a large number of commodities and include graded and non-graded wool and mohair. MALs have a nine-month maturity.
More Information
For more information on the availability of LDPs and MALs for wool, please contact the Otoe County FSA office at (402) 269-2361.
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As the use of cover crops to improve soil health and reduce water quality concerns on working cropland has increased in recent years, questions have emerged regarding the value of cover crops to wildlife. For example, do cover crops provide needed habitat for grassland birds, a group that has experienced widespread population decline in recent decades? What is the value of cover crop fields to grassland birds during the winter, spring migration, and breeding periods compared to cropland fields without cover crops or areas of perennial cover?
On April 25 at 2:00 p.m. eastern, Dr. Adam Janke of Iowa State University and Dr. David Buehler of the University of Tennessee will provide answers to these questions and more during our free, one-hour Conservation Outcomes Webinar. This webinar will share findings from recent studies examining bird use of cover crops in Iowa and Tennessee conducted in partnership with USDA's Conservation Effects Assessment Project. Findings may be used to support on-the-ground cropland management decisions informed by a better understanding of the potential roll of cover crops in grassland bird conservation efforts
Registration is not required. Access instructions are available on the Conservation Outcomes Webinar Series webpage along with a calendar of upcoming webinars through 2024.
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.
OPERATING/OWNERSHIP
Farm Operating: 4.875%
Farm Ownership: 5.250%
Farm Ownership – Limited Resource: 5%
Farm Ownership - Joint Financing: 3.250%
Farm Ownership - Down Payment: 1.5%
Emergency - Actual Loss: 3.75%
FARM STORAGE FACILITY LOAN
3-year term: 4.250%
5-year term: 4.125%
7-year term: 4.125%
10-year term: 4.125%
12-year term: 4.250%
MARKETING ASSISTANCE
Commodity Loan: 5.875%
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