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Farmers and ranchers across the United States file annual acreage reports with the USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA), telling their local County Office what crops or forage they are growing. Crop reports are an important part of the yearly cycle in conventional agriculture, as the reports are used to ensure they are eligible for key income support, disaster relief, and conservation programs.
For urban farmers, market gardeners, and community gardeners, the question is "Should you report your crops even if you're growing in a small area rather than a 100-acre soybean field?
Yes! You should still consider reporting your crops even if you're not growing row crops, because we never know what future programs might bring.
For commercial producers, reporting your crops is necessary for certain disaster assistance programs, such as the Non-Insured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) and the Tree Assistance Program (TAP). Licensed hemp growers are also required to report their crop to their County FSA Office. License hemp cultivators must also submit their crop planting reports to the Ohio Department of Agriculture, as this is part of the hemp licensing process with the ODA. Crop reports are also government records that help you demonstrate cropping history for current and future Farm Bill Programs.
However, program eligibility is not the only reason you should report your crops! Crop reporting also helps us identify what is being grown in Cuyahoga County by local producers, helping us identify the needs. Reporting your crops ensures that they are not just seen by you and the people who eat them!
Reporting your crops also gives you an opportunity to work with the local Farm Service Agency and to talk about your operation's needs. A call that starts with a crop report might end with you identifying a program or opportunity that fits your operation perfectly.
To report your crops, you'll need a few things before talking to the office. You will need to know the planting date, the variety of crop you are growing, the intended use, and the size of the physical planting area (in acres or square feet).
So, once you have your seeds in the ground, consider reporting your fields and beds! Different crops have different deadlines, and the 2024 deadlines for acreage reporting are:
May 31st, 2024: Report Nursery Crop Acreage
July 15th, 2024: Report spring-planted crops, including Burley Tobacco, Cabbage (planted from March 19th to May 31st), Corn, Grain Sorghum, Spring Oats, Popcorn, Potatoes, Soybeans, Sugar Beets, Tomatoes, and other crops. Report all Perennial Forage Crops. Report Garlic.
August 15th, 2024: Report all Cabbage planted June 1st to July 20th
September 30th, 2024: Report Aquaculture stocks
December 15th, 2024: Report fall-seeded 2025 grains, including Barley, Fall Wheat, and other fall-seeded Small Grains.
January 2nd, 2025: Report Honeybee Colonies and Taps for Maple Sap
January 15th, 2025: Report Apples and Grapes
If you are interested or would like to learn more, please call me at 330-297-7633, option 2 or email me so that we can get your records established.
Spring is a busy time – farmers and gardeners are planting and transplanting their crops, making their plans for the late spring markets, and making improvements to their soil and infrastructure. Making time to talk to the Farm Service Agency about options available to your operation can be difficult, especially if you prefer to talk in-person. The drive to the temporary office in Ravenna is at least an hour-and-a-half round-trip, and we understand it isn’t feasible for most producers.
The Cleveland Farm Service Agency is always willing to meet you at your farm or garden or at a local library to talk about your operation. Send an email to tristam.mizak@usda.gov or call 330-297-7633, option 2 to set up an appointment. When we meet, we can discuss what programs might be appropriate for your operation, complete eligibility paperwork, as well as identify other resources that you may be interested in considering.
Additionally, the Cleveland Farm Service Agency holds a Library Office Hours every other Thursday at a branch of the Cleveland Public Library, where producers can meet one-on-one with an FSA staff member to talk about their operation. Currently, the confirmed scheduled locations and dates are:
April 18th: Harvard-Lee Library, 16918 Harvard Ave, 44128, 12:00pm-4:30pm
May 16th: West Park Library, 3805 W 157th St, 44111, 12:00pm-4:30pm
May 30th: Fulton Library, 3545 Fulton Rd., 44109, 12:00pm-4:30pm
If you would need to request an accommodation for an Office Hour, please contact Tristam Mizak at 330-297-7633 or tristam.mizak@usda.gov by Tuesday the week of the event.
Producers that have a farm loan with the Farm Service Agency are reminded they must provide information for their operational review to their loan officer each year. Borrowers are urged to provide this information timely so that their files can be maintained. The office will contact you for the data you will need to provide us.
Competitive financing is available for farmers, ranchers, and market gardeners who want to invest in equipment used for the storage and handling of their produce.
Farm Storage Facility Loans (FSFLs) are historically associated with grain bins, silos, and structures used by farmers to store their end-of-year harvest to strengthen their marketing position. But did you know that FSFLs can also be used to finance other storage and handling investments for your operation? If you’re looking at purchasing a new or used truck or van to transport your produce or equipment to store, move, and handle your crops, consider visiting your local Farm Service Agency (FSA) County Office to see if you can get financing through the FSFL Program.
FSFLs can be up to $500,000 per loan, with a minimum down payment of 15 percent. Approved loans are required before purchasing, building, and accepting delivery of equipment. This includes getting approval before any site preparation and/or construction can be started. The producer is reimbursed after the loan closing. Producers can finance multiple pieces of equipment under a single loan. There is also a microloan option that may be of interest to beginning farmers as well as farmers who have smaller operations. Microloans can be up to $50,000 and require a lesser down payment of 5 percent.
Eligible Commodities
The range of commodities that are eligible for FSA’s FSFL program includes:
- Honey;
- Fruits and Vegetables;
- Nuts;
- Flowers;
- Maple sap and syrup;
- Milk, cheese, butter, and yoghurt;
- Eggs;
- Unprocessed meat and poultry, including meat cured, sliced, smoked or ground for storage;
- Aquaculture, including finfish and shellfish;
- Hemp;
- Wool
Storage and Handling Equipment
FSFLs can be used to finance storage and handling equipment. Because the range of commodities is so diverse, the list includes equipment specific to individual commodities, such as bale accumulators for hay, bottling systems for honey, and grain dryers for cereals. The list includes, but is not limited to:
- Back-up generators for storage facilities;
- Bottling systems, excluding containers;
- Boxers;
- Brush polishers;
- Bulk bin tippers;
- Case palletizers;
- Cold dip tanks;
- Conveyors;
- Dump carts;
- Food safety-related equipment;
- Forklifts;
- Freezers;
- Hydrocoolers;
- Quality graders;
- Rack systems;
- Refrigeration units and systems;
- Safety equipment meeting OSHA requirements;
- Sorting bins and tables;
- Skid steers;
- Washers for produce;
- Weight graders;
- Weight scales;
Loans can be for new or used equipment, but the equipment must have a useful life for the entire term of the loan. Single-use items or consumed supplies, such as bottles, single-use containers, or bale bags, are not eligible for FSFL financing.
Storage and Handling Trucks
You can utilize FSFLs to finance vehicles used to store, handle, and transport eligible commodities that you produced. FSFLs can finance for new or used vehicles, and the terms of the loans depends on the cost of the truck and whether it is new or used, but generally range from 3 to 7 years for new vehicles and 3 to 5 years for used vehicles. You can finance:
- Refrigerated, cold storage trucks and vans;
- Flat-bed trucks that have open bodies for easy loading and unloading;
- Box trucks, box vans, and straight trucks;
- Semi-trucks and truck-tractors
Pick-up trucks and dump trucks are not eligible for FSFL financing. If you have an FSFL on a vehicle, you must hold full automobile insurance coverage (comprehensive and collision) for the term of the loan.
Who Is Eligible?
Any producer who is a landowner, landlord, leaseholder, tenant, or sharecropper that produces an eligible commodity is potentially eligible for a Farm Storage Facility Loan. Interested applicants must be able to show repayment ability, and other requirements may need to be met to qualify for a loan. Contact your local FSA Service Center for more details!
How to Apply
FSFL applications should be filed after having a discussion with the staff at your local USDA Service Center. The application should be filed in the administrative county office that maintains the record for the farm where the commodity the equipment or vehicle will be used for is grown.
All applications require a $100 nonrefundable application fee.
Additional Information
If approved, producers are required to have all-peril insurance on the equipment or full automobile insurance on a vehicle. Producers may also be required to acquire flood insurance if the property where the automobile or equipment is stored is within a flood plain. Producers may also be required to maintain multi-peril crop insurance under the Federal Crop Insurance Program, dairy insurance, or Non-Insured Crop Disaster Assistance Program coverage depending on the commodity.
Equipment and vehicles financed by FSFL must be used to store, handle, or transport eligible commodities. Once disbursed, producers must use the FSFL collateral for the intended purpose for which it was initially requested. Producers must request in writing for approval to use financed vehicles or equipment to store or handle anything other than an eligible FSFL commodity.
For More Information
For more information, visit the FSFL webpage.
In this Ask the Expert, urban conservationist Brooke Franklin explains the support available for urban producers through USDA and offers tips for urban gardening in the summer heat. Brooke is a Natural Resource Specialist working on urban conservation with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Kansas.
How do you work with urban producers at NRCS?
In my current position, I help specialty crop and small-scale farmers conserve natural resources so they can continue to have a profitable and sustainable business. I provide technical assistance to farmers to conserve soil, water, air, and other natural resources. At NRCS we have programs that can help all farmers achieve their conservation goals.
I help small and urban farms practice conservation using cover crops, pollinator/native plantings, composting, micro-irrigation, and rain catchment systems. I also work a lot with high tunnels due to the fact that many urban farms are growing what some call market gardens, which help feed the community. The high tunnels help these farmers extend the growing season by starting earlier and farming later into the year and they are even able to overwinter crops in some cases.
How is urban conservation different from other conservation work, and what type of assistance can urban farmers and gardeners get from NRCS?
The work NRCS does with urban conservation is similar to what you would think of with a larger rural farm. However, it is on a smaller scale. These farmers are typically growing on lots as small as 1/10th of an acre. We provide technical assistance to all farmers no matter the size of their operations.
For example, one of the biggest obstacles that urban producers face is soil contamination by trace metals due to previous homes or businesses on the property. There are many methods to help mitigate these contaminates and NRCS can provide technical assistance to help with soil remediation.
To read the full interview, visit farmers.gov!
April 18th: Library Office Hours at the Harvard-Lee Branch of the Cleveland Public Library, 16918 Harvard Ave, Cleveland, OH, 44128.
April 29th: Deadline to sign-up for Dairy Margin Coverage.
May 2nd: Library Office Hours at the Fleet Branch of the Cleveland Public Library, 7224 Broadway Ave., Cleveland, OH, 44105.
May 16th: Library Office Hours at the West Park Branch of the Cleveland Public Library, 3805 W 157th St., Cleveland, OH, 44111.
May 27th: Memorial Day Holiday. USDA Service Center Closed
May 30th: Library Office Hours at the Fulton Branch of the Cleveland Public Library, 3545 Fulton Rd., Cleveland, OH, 44109
May 31st: Deadline to apply for 2023 Commodity Loans and Loan Deficiency Payments on feed grains, soybeans, and pulse crops.
June 15th: County Committee Nomination Period begins.
June 19th: Juneteenth National Independence Day. USDA Service Center Closed.
Ongoing Reminders
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ERP 2022 signup started October 31st, 2023. The application deadline has not yet been determined and will be announced at a later date.
- Reports of Failed Acreage must be filed with the County Office before disposition of the crop.
- Reports of Prevented Planted Acreage must be filed with the County Office no later than 15 calendar days after the final planting date for that county and producers of hand-harvested crops and certain perishable crops must notify FSA within 72 hours when a loss becomes apparent.
- Contact the Cleveland Farm Service Agency for Notice of Loss deadlines and disaster program requirements.
- Contact the Office if you have acquired or dropped land.
- Honeybee producers should notify the office of a change in inventory within 30 days.
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Vacant Lot Land Use Help Desks are held for residents of the City of Cleveland every Monday from 1pm to 2pm.
Free email and text messages are available on program deadlines and other opportunities
Did you know you can subscribe to receive free email and text message updates from USDA related to urban agriculture and innovative production here in Cleveland?
Whether you’re scrolling through emails on your break or checking a text message between tasks, USDA wants to keep you posted on the latest news in urban agriculture and innovative production. Subscribe now to receive emails and text messages about important program information, eligibility requirements and deadlines from the Farm Service Agency (FSA), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and Risk Management Agency (RMA) related to urban agriculture, specifically in Cleveland.
Cleveland is one of the 17 USDA urban hubs, which are home to an FSA Urban County Committee as well as a flagship People’s Garden.
You can sign up for email alerts by visiting farmers.gov/subscribe (select “OH - Cleveland - Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production”) or to subscribe to text message alerts, text OHClevelandUrbanAg to 372669. Urban agriculture is one of the many topics available to producers. If you subscribe online, you can also sign up for information on other topics, including disaster assistance, conservation programs, crop insurance and farm loans. Participants may unsubscribe at any time.
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