Dairy Month gives us an opportunity to salute America’s dairy farmers across the State of Indiana. Thank you for the work you do – day in and day out – to provide wholesome, nutritious and fresh products to our dining room tables, every single day. Dairy Month also gives us a chance to look forward to the Dairy Bar at the Indiana State Fair, in August! Can’t you just taste those delicious grilled cheese sandwiches and milkshakes?
Across Indiana, rainfall has been with us all spring. Between the raindrops, I hope you have had an opportunity to visit your county office to certify your acreage. We appreciate you working with our county office team to do this. If you have not made your appointment, give your local office a call and get an appointment scheduled.
Stay safe and remember to thank a dairy farmer for all they do!
In Agriculture,
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 State Executive Director
Producers are reminded to report prevented planted and failed acres in order to establish or retain FSA program eligibility for some programs.
You should report crop acreage you intended to plant, but due to natural disaster, were prevented from planting. Prevented planting 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 the Risk Management Agency (RMA).
Corn & Soybean Final Planting Dates for Indiana
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Crop
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Final Plant Date
in Indiana
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Deadline to File CCC-576 Notice of Loss
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Corn
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June 5
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June 20
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Soybeans
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June 20
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July 5
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Additionally, if you have failed acres, you should also use form CCC-576, Notice of Loss, to report failed acres.
For hand-harvested crops and certain perishables, you must notify FSA of damage or loss through the administrative county office within 72 hours of the date of damage or loss first becomes apparent. This notification can be provided by filing a CCC-576, email, fax or phone. If you notify the County Office by any method other than by filing the CCC-576, you are still required to file a CCC-576, Notice of Loss, within the required 15 calendar days.
For losses on crops covered by the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP), you must file a Notice of Loss within 15 days of the occurrence of the disaster or when losses become apparent. You must timely file a Notice of Loss for failed acres on all crops including grasses.
To file a Notice of Loss, contact your local USDA Service Center.
Update Your Records Prior to Your Acreage Reporting Appointment
To streamline your acreage reporting appointment, please report any changes of address, zip code, phone number, email address or an incorrect name or business name on file to your local FSA office. This includes changes in your farm operation, like the addition of a farm by lease or purchase or any changes to your operation in which you reorganize to form a Trust, LLC or other legal entity.
FSA and NRCS program participants are required to promptly report changes in their farming operation to the County Committee in writing and to update their Farm Operating Plan on form CCC-902.
Maps Available for Pickup
Acreage reporting maps are available in most Indiana FSA county offices. If you have not
already received or picked up your maps, please contact your county office to have them mailed, emailed or prepared for pick up. Farm Service Agency (FSA) acreage reporting policy for cover crops, revising intended use, late-filed provisions and grazing allotments.
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
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.
Know Your Final Planting Dates
All producers are encouraged to contact their local FSA office for more information on the final planting date for specific crops. The final planting dates vary by crop, planting period and county so please contact your local FSA office for a list of county-specific planting deadlines. The timely planting of a crop, by the final planting date, may prevent loss of program benefits.
Producers are encouraged to schedule an appointment
with their local USDA Service Center
to file their acreage reports as soon as planting is completed.
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If you want to use the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) organic price and you selected the "organic" option on your NAP application, you must report your crops as organic.
When certifying organic acres, the buffer zone acreage must be included in the organic acreage. You must also provide a current organic plan, organic certificate or documentation from a certifying agent indicating an organic plan is in effect.
Documentation must include:
- name of certified individuals
- address
- telephone number
- effective date of certification
- certificate number
- list of commodities certified
- name and address of certifying agent
- a map showing the specific location of each field of certified organic, including the buffer zone acreage
Certification exemptions are available for producers whose annual gross agricultural income from organic sales totals $5,000 or less. Although exempt growers are not required to provide a written certificate, they are still required to provide a map showing the specific location of each field of certified organic, transitional and buffer zone acreage.
For questions about reporting organic crops, contact your local USDA Service Center.
Through the Organic Certification Cost Share Program (OCCSP), 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 October 31, 2024, deadline for eligible expenses incurred from October 1, 2023, to September 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 through the Ag Marketing Service and the Organic Transition Initiative (OTI).
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 and processing/handling.
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 OTI, which includes direct farmer assistance for organic production and processing and conservation. For more information on organic agriculture, visit farmers.gov/organic.
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If you are participating in the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) or Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs, you are subject to an acre-for-acre payment reduction when fruits and nuts, vegetables or wild rice are planted on payment acres of a farm. Payment reductions do not apply to mung beans, dry peas, lentils or chickpeas. Planting fruits, vegetables or wild rice on acres not considered payment acres will not result in a payment reduction.
Farms that are eligible to participate in ARC/PLC but are not enrolled for a particular year may plant unlimited fruits, vegetables and wild rice for that year but will not receive ARC/PLC payments. Eligibility for succeeding years is not affected.
Planting and harvesting fruits, vegetables and wild rice on ARC/PLC acreage is subject to the acre-for-acre payment reduction when those crops are planted on more than 15 percent of the base acres of an ARC enrolled farm using the county coverage or PLC, or more than 35 percent of the base acres of an ARC enrolled farm using the individual coverage.
Fruits, vegetables and wild rice that are planted in a double-cropping practice will not cause a payment reduction if the farm is in a double-cropping region as designated by the USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation.
Do you have grain under loan with FSA?
If so, always contact FSA before you haul or feed any grain under loan.
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If loan grain has been disposed of through feeding, selling or any other form of disposal without prior written authorization from the county office staff, it is considered unauthorized disposition.
The financial penalties for unauthorized dispositions are severe and your name will be placed on a loan violation list for a two-year period.
Contact your local USDA Service Center to request permission to feed, sell or otherwise dispose of grain under loan.
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FSA borrowers with farms located in designated primary or contiguous disaster areas who are unable to make their scheduled FSA loan payments should consider the Disaster Set-Aside (DSA) program.
DSA is available to producers who suffered losses as a result of a natural disaster and relieves immediate and temporary financial stress. FSA is authorized to consider setting aside the portion of a payment/s needed for the operation to continue on a viable scale.
Borrowers must have at least two years left on the term of their loan in order to qualify.
Borrowers have eight months from the date of the disaster designation to submit a complete application. The application must include a written request for DSA signed by all parties liable for the debt along with production records and financial history for the operating year in which the disaster occurred. FSA may request additional information from the borrower in order to determine eligibility.
All farm loans must be current or less than 90 days past due at the time the DSA application is complete. Borrowers may not set aside more than one installment on each loan.
The amount set-aside, including interest accrued on the principal portion of the set-aside, is due on or before the final due date of the loan.
The below table list current Designated Primary and Contiguous Disaster Counties in Indiana.
Disaster Declaration Number
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Loan Application Deadline
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Primary and Contiguous
Indiana Counties
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N1686
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07-03-2024
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Vermillion and Vigo
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M4749
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07-22-2024
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Lake
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N1694
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11-29-2024
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Delaware, Henry, Jay, Randolph
and Wayne
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N1697
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12-26-2024
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Clark
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M4777
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01-02-2025
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Adams, Jay, Randolph
and Wayne
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N1698
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01-07-2025
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Gibson, Posey, Vanderburgh
and Warrick
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N1699
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01-07-2025
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Clark, Jefferson and Switzerland
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M1707
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01-17-2025
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Dubois, Gibson, Pike, Posey, Spencer, Vanderburgh and Warrick
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For more information concerning the natural disaster event that prompted each designation, contact your local USDA Service Center or the Indiana Regional Farm Loan Team.
In this Ask the Expert, Tina Mellinger answers questions about FSA Youth Loans. Tina is a Farm Loan Manager in Ohio and has worked for FSA for 37 years. Her FSA farm loan team makes an average of around 50 loans each year, with around five of those being Youth Loans.
To learn more about FSA Youth Loan opportunities, read the full blog at farmers.gov/blog/ask-expert-qa-on-youth-loans-with-tina-mellinger or contact your FSA Farm Loan Office.
Locate your Indiana Farm Loan Regional Office.
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Sign up for the Grassland CRP June 3 - 28, 2024
Grassland Conservation Reserve Program (Grassland CRP) is a voluntary working lands conservation program that enables participants to conserve grasslands and provide important conservation benefits for wildlife, soil health and carbon sequestration, all while continuing most grazing and haying practices.
Landowners and producers interested in CRP should contact their local USDA Service Center to learn more or to apply for the program before the June 28 deadline.
USDA in partnership with FarmRaise, launched a new, online Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-raised Fish Program (ELAP) Decision Tool. This tool is designed to assist producers who have been impacted by natural disasters access available program support. The ELAP Decision Tool further expands the library of online FSA disaster and farm loan program reference resources and decision aids currently available to producers on the FarmRaise FSA educational hub. The Decision Tool is a resource only and is not an application for benefits or a determination of eligibility.
ELAP is designed to address losses not covered by other FSA disaster assistance programs. The program provides recovery assistance to eligible producers of livestock, honeybee, and farm-raised fish losses due to an eligible adverse weather or loss condition, including drought, blizzards, disease, water shortages and wildfires. ELAP covers grazing and feed losses, transportation of water and feed to livestock and hauling livestock to grazing acres due to an eligible loss condition. ELAP also covers certain mortality losses, due to an eligible condition, for livestock including honeybees and farm-raised fish as well as honeybee hive losses.
The ELAP Decision Tool helps eligible producers better understand program eligibility and application requirements, learn about record-keeping and supporting loss documentation requirements and track the steps needed before applying for program benefits. The document generated by the ELAP Decision Tool can be used to support the ELAP application process, but it is not a program application. Producers will need to complete and submit the ELAP Application to their local FSA county office. Upon request, applicants may be asked to provide additional supporting documentation per the program requirements.
Through use of the ELAP Decision Tool, producers can segment by loss type (honeybee, farm-raised fish and livestock). This enables easier navigation, as guided by the tool, to assistance available to meet specific disaster recovery needs. After entering the type of loss, identifying the loss condition and entering their inventory and loss information, producers are guided through a worksheet that helps identify required loss documentation (i.e., pictures, receipts, truck logs, etc.) that can be uploaded through the ELAP tool and sent directly to the producer’s local FSA county office. Producers can also provide a copy of the tool-generated worksheet summary document when they visit their local FSA county office to complete and submit the required ELAP application.
Additional FarmRaise Resources
The previously announced Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) Decision Tool, also available through the FarmRaise | FSA Educational Hub, assists livestock producers who suffered losses from eligible adverse weather events and other causes of loss as well as cooperators who are helping disaster-impacted livestock producers navigate available federal disaster assistance programs. The LIP Decision Tool gives producers guidance on what is needed to gather and submit required loss documentation, reducing the amount of time needed to complete applications and enabling FSA county office staff to deliver much-needed assistance faster. Using the LIP Decision Tool is not an application for benefits or a determination of eligibility.
The FarmRaise | FSA Educational Hub offers several, easily navigated farm loan programs how-to videos designed to introduce producers to FSA’s many farm loan programs options and guide them through the application process.
More FSA program resources and tools will continue to be added to the FarmRaise | FSA Educational Hub. Cooperators and agricultural producers are encouraged to visit the FarmRaise | FSA Educational Hub often to access all available educational resources.
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Indiana FSA is hiring County Executive Directors in Adams, Clay, Fayette, Madison and Steuben counties.
To learn more about this exciting job opportunity and to apply, scan the QR code to visit USAJobs. Applications will be accepted June 10 through June 24, 2024.
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Subscribe to Electronic Newsletters
Visit farmers.gov/subscribe or contact your local USDA Service Center for assistance to subscribe to their electronic newsletter.
Subscribe to Text Alerts
Text the Service Center Keyword to 372-669 to receive county specific text alerts. Keywords are county specific consisting of the 2-letter state abbreviation and the county name. Example: For Ripley County, IN you would enter INRipley.
Standard text messaging rates apply. Contact your wireless carrier for details associated with your particular data plan. Participants may unsubscribe at any time.
For subscription assistance contact your local USDA Service Center.
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Follow FSA on Facebook
USDA-FSA recently launched our awesome new Facebook page! We encourage you to like our pages, comment and share our posts.
facebook.com/USDAFSA
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USDA announced loan interest rates for June 2024, which were effective June 1, 2024. USDA’s FSA loans provide important access to capital to help agricultural producers start or expand their farming operation, purchase equipment and storage structures, or meet cash flow needs.
FSA also offers guaranteed loans through commercial lenders at rates set by those lenders.
Check your eligibility for FSA loans and find the right loans to fit your needs by utilizing the Farm Loan Assistance Tool.
Producers can explore available options on all FSA loan options at fsa.usda.gov or by contacting your local USDA Service Center.
2024 Indiana FSA Important Deadline Dates
June 1 – Date used to establish ownership interest for person or legal entity for program purposes.
June 1 – Date used for the determination of minor child for program purposes.
June 3 – CRP Grasslands Signup Began
June 15 – Acreage Reporting Date for Cucumbers (Planted 5/1 to 5/31) in Knox County
June 17 - Nominations open for the 2024 County Committee COC Election
June 19 – Offices Closed in Observance of Juneteenth National Independence Day
June 20 – Final Date to Submit a Prevented Planting Claim for Corn
June 24 - Deadline to Apply for CED Position in Adams, Clay, Fayette, Madison and Steuben County Offices
June 28 – Final Date to Submit an Offer for CRP Grasslands Signup
July 4 – Offices Closed in Observance of Independence Day
July 5 – Final Date to Submit a Prevented Planting Claim for Soybeans
July 7 - Final Date to Submit Nominations for the Federal Advisory Committee for Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production
July 15 – Final Acreage Reporting Date for All Other Crops & CRP (Including Cucumbers Planted 5/10 – 6/15 in All Other Indiana Counties)
Ongoing – Submit an Application for a Farm Storage Facility Loan
Ongoing – Submit an Offer for Continuous Conservation Reserve Program Practices
Continuous - Submit an Application for FSA Farm Loans
Click Here to View the 2024 FSA Annual Program and Policy Reminder Newsletter
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