June is one of my favorite months in Alaska. I always tell friends and family who live in the lower 48 that if they only get to come to Alaska once, they should plan the trip for June. There’s a better chance for nice weather, the 20+ hours of daylight are intense and amazing and the mood of all the locals is just better.
There are positive changes coming to the Reimbursement Transportation Cost Program (RTCP). Look for a full announcement in the coming month! The Alaska Food Policy Council’s Regional Food Business Center hosted a RTCP webinar for farmers as part of their Technical Assistance capacity-building program last month. You can watch the recording of the webinar at (3) Reimbursement Transportation Cost Payment (RTCP) Webinar - YouTube
The Intertribal Agriculture Council (IAC) works throughout Alaska to enhance access to and awareness of resources for Indian and Tribal agricultural producers. We are partnering with IAC Alaska to host Town Hall listening sessions throughout the State; we were in Fairbanks in March, Copper Center in May and will host a virtual opportunity on Thursday June 13th. See the flyer below for registration details.
The Alaska State Fair and Alaska Division of Agriculture are currently seeking nominations for the 2024 Farm Family of the Year. Nominate your friends, neighbors or favorite farmer at https://dnr.alaska.gov/ag/ag_FFY.htm
The Delta Junction FSA staff will be available to assist you in the Fairbanks NRCS office this summer. All hours will be from 10am-2:30pm.
June 5th and 26th.
July through September, every Wednesday
The Palmer FSA staff will be in the Wasilla NRCS office every Thursday from 8:30am-4pm.
Upcoming Office Closures:
Wednesday, June 19th for Juneteenth
Thursday, July 4th for Independence Day
Upcoming Events:
Thursday, June 13th, SED Listening Session, Virtual (More information below!)
Amy Pettit
Alaska State Executive Director
amy.pettit@usda.gov
Office: 907-761-7750
Cell: 907-419-0137
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The Alaska State Farm Service Agency in partnership with Intertribal Agriculture Council will be hosting a virtual Town Hall style listening session Thursday, June 13th from 12-1PM. Please join us for the interactive forum to help us identify barriers to program participation. Amy Pettit, State Executive Director, will be available for questions. This is open to the public. You can register for this Town Hall by clicking HERE.
If you would need to request an accommodation, please contact Shelby Johnson at (907)761-7753 or shelby.johnson@usda.gov by June 12th to request accommodations (e.g., an interpreter, translator, etc.) or materials in an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape – captioning, etc.).
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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 Northern County USDA Service Center at (907)895-4242 ext 2 or your Southern County Farm Service Agency Office at (907)761-7738 or visit fsa.usda.gov.
Agricultural producers who have not yet completed their crop acreage reports after spring planting should make an appointment with the Name County Farm Service Agency (FSA) before the applicable deadline.
An acreage report documents a crop grown on a farm or ranch, its intended use and location. Filing an accurate and timely acreage report for all crops and land uses, including failed acreage and prevented planted acreage, can prevent the loss of benefits.
How to File a Report
The following acreage reporting dates are applicable in Alaska:
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July 15, 2024
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All other spring planted crops, CRP, Perennial Forage
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September 30, 2024
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Value-loss crops (including Peonies) and controlled environment crops (except nursery)
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December 16, 2024
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Fall-Seeded Small Grains
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January 2, 2025
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Honey
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To file a crop acreage report, producers need to provide:
- Crop and crop type or variety
- Intended crop use
- Number of crop acres
- Map with approximate crop boundaries
- Planting date(s)
- Planting pattern, when applicable
- Producer shares
- Irrigation practice(s)
- Acreage prevented from planting, when applicable
- Other required information
Acreage Reporting Details
The following exceptions apply to acreage reporting dates:
- If the crop has not been planted by the acreage reporting date, then the acreage must be reported no later than 15 calendar days after planting is completed.
- If a producer acquires additional acreage after the acreage reporting date, then the acreage must be reported no later than 30 calendar days after purchase or acquiring the lease. Appropriate documentation must be provided to the county office.
Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) policy holders should note that the acreage reporting date for NAP-covered crops is the earlier of the dates listed above or 15 calendar days before grazing or crop harvesting begins.
Prevented Planted Acreage
Producers should also report crop acreage they intended to plant but were unable to because of a natural disaster, including drought. Prevented planted acreage must be reported on form CCC-576, Notice of Loss, no later than 15 calendar days after the final planting date as established by FSA and USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA).
FSA recently updated policy that applies to prevented planted acreage due to drought. To certify prevented planted acreage due to drought, all of the following must apply:
- The area that is prevented from being planted has insufficient soil moisture for seed germination on the final planting date for non-irrigated acreage.
- Prolonged precipitation deficiencies that meet the D3 or D4 drought intensity level as determined by the U.S. Drought Monitor.
- Verifiable information must be collected from sources whose business or purpose is recording weather conditions as determined by FSA.
Continuous Certification Option for Perennial Forage
Agricultural producers with perennial forage crops have the option to report their acreage once, without having to report that acreage in subsequent years, as long as there are no applicable changes on the farm. Interested producers can select the continuous certification option after FSA certifies their acreage report. Examples of perennial forage include mixed forage, birdsfoot trefoil, chicory/radicchio, kochia (prostrata), lespedeza, perennial peanuts and perennial grass varieties.
Once the continuous certification option is selected, the certified acreage will roll forward annually with no additional action required by the producer in subsequent years unless the acreage report changes.
Farmers.gov Portal
Producers can access their FSA farm records, maps, and common land units through the farmers.gov customer portal. The portal allows producers to export field boundaries as shapefiles and import and view other shapefiles, such as precision agriculture boundaries within farm records mapping. Producers can view, print and label their maps for acreage reporting purposes. Level 2 eAuthentication or login.gov access that is linked to a USDA Business Partner customer record is required to use the portal.
Producers can visit farmers.gov/account to learn more about creating an account. Producers who have authority to act on behalf of another customer as a grantee via an FSA-211 Power of Attorney form, Business Partner Signature Authority or as a member of a business can now access information for the business in the farmers.gov portal.
More Information
For questions, please contact your Northern County USDA Service Center at (907)895-4242 ext 2 or your Southern County Farm Service Agency Office at (907)761-7738 or visit fsa.usda.gov.
Through the Organic Certification Cost Share Program (OCCSP), USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) will cover up to 75% of organic certification costs at a maximum of $750 per certification category. FSA is now accepting applications, and organic producers and handlers should apply for OCCSP by the Oct. 31, 2024, deadline for eligible expenses incurred from Oct. 1, 2023, to Sept. 30, 2024. FSA will issue payments as applications are received and approved.
OCCSP was part of a broader organic announcement made by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on May 15, 2024, which also included the Organic Market Development Grant program and Organic Transition Initiative.
Eligible Applicants, Expenses and Categories
OCCSP provides cost-share assistance to producers and handlers of organic agricultural commodities for expenses incurred obtaining or maintaining organic certification under USDA’s National Organic Program. Eligible OCCSP applicants include any certified organic producers or handlers who have paid organic certification fees to a USDA-accredited certifying agent.
Cost share assistance covers expenses including application fees, inspection costs, fees related to equivalency agreement and arrangement requirements, inspector travel expenses, user fees, sales assessments and postage. OCCSP pays a maximum of $750 per certification category for crops, wild crops, livestock, processing/handling, and state organic program fees (California only).
How to Apply
To apply, producers and handlers should contact FSA at their local USDA Service Center and be prepared to provide documentation of organic certification and eligible expenses. OCCSP applications can also be submitted through participating state departments of agriculture. For more information, visit the OCCSP webpage.
Opportunity for State Departments of Agriculture
FSA is also accepting applications from state departments of agriculture to administer OCCSP. FSA posted a funding opportunity summary on grants.gov and will electronically mail the Notice of Funding Opportunity to all eligible state departments of agriculture. Applications are due July 12, 2024.
If a state department of agriculture chooses to participate in OCCSP, both the state department of agriculture and FSA county offices in that state will accept OCCSP applications and make payments to eligible certified operations. Producers or handlers can receive OCCSP assistance from either FSA or the participating state department of agriculture but not both.
More Information
USDA offers other assistance for organic producers, including the Organic Transition Initiative (OTI), which includes direct farmer assistance for organic production and processing and conservation. For more information on organic agriculture, visit farmers.gov/organic.
To learn more about FSA programs, producers can 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.
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, and 2022. Unlike the past, you must have the CCC-941 certifying your AGI compliance before any payments can be issued.
The USDA Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) Direct Farm Ownership loans can help farmers and ranchers become owner-operators of family farms, improve and expand current operations, increase agricultural productivity, and assist with land tenure to save farmland for future generations.
There are three types of Direct Farm Ownership Loans: regular, down payment and joint financing. FSA also offers a Direct Farm Ownership Microloan option for smaller financial needs up to $50,000.
Joint financing allows FSA to provide more farmers and ranchers with access to capital. FSA lends up to 50 percent of the total amount financed. A commercial lender, a State program or the seller of the property being purchased, provides the balance of loan funds, with or without an FSA guarantee. The maximum loan amount for a joint financing loan is $600,000, and the repayment period for the loan is up to 40 years.
The operation must be an eligible farm enterprise. Farm Ownership loan funds cannot be used to finance nonfarm enterprises and all applicants must be able to meet general eligibility requirements. Loan applicants are also required to have participated in the business operations of a farm or ranch for at least three years out of the 10 years prior to the date the application is submitted. The applicant must show documentation that their participation in the business operation of the farm or ranch was not solely as a laborer.
For more information about farm loans, contact your Northern County USDA Service Center at (907)895-4242 ext 2 or your Southern County Farm Service Agency Office at (907)761-7738 or visit fsa.usda.gov.
Remember to discuss your USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) account information only with people you recognize and trust.
If you have questions about your FSA accounts, including your farm loans, contact your Northern County USDA Service Center at (907)895-4242 ext 2 or your Southern County Farm Service Agency Office at (907)761-7738 or visit fsa.usda.gov.
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