Greetings from your county FSA office. Like you, we have a great deal keeping us busy as we move into the official start of summer. Here are a few key things that we need our farmer and rancher customers to be aware of and responsive to:

• We might sound like a broken record, but if you haven’t yet certified your acres with us for the 2024 production season, we need to see you now. It’s crunch time, with only a few weeks until the mid-July certification deadline for spring-planted crops, as well as perennial forage (pastures) and Conservation Reserve Program acres. If you haven’t done this yet, please contact the Johnson County FSA Office at (402) 335-3377 or the Nemaha County FSA Office at (402) 274-4987.
• Grassland Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) currently is open for application. This is a voluntary, working lands CRP that enables participants to conserve grassland while continuing most grazing and haying practices. The deadline to submit a contract offer is Friday, June 28, so if you are interested in this program, please contact our office as soon as possible for more information.
• FSA County Committee election season is under way, and we need you! If you or someone you know cares about agriculture in our county, and could serve as a voice for local producers, there may be a place for you on the County FSA Committee. To learn more about it, check out the article below.
• Our FSA loan team is busy this time of year with visits to farm and ranch customers. It’s an important part of the loan process. Please try to have patience and flexibility with our team as they work to get around to see those who are scheduled for a visit this year.

That’s all for this month. Talk to you in July.

--Jordan

The Johnson/Nemaha County Farm Service Agency (FSA) is reminding producers that annual acreage reporting is an important eligibility requirement to receive financial benefits through the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP), as well as a number of other FSA-administered programs.

The next deadline for annual acreage reporting in Nebraska is July 15, 2024. This includes common spring-planted crops, such as corn, soybeans, wheat, and grain sorghum, but also includes perennial grass (pasture) and Conservation Reserve Program acres. 

Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) policy holders should note that the acreage reporting date for NAP-covered crops is July 15, 2024, or 15 calendar days before grazing or harvesting of the crop begins.

Even though the acreage reporting deadline is months away, the county FSA office is encouraging producers with pasture acres and acres planted for grazing purposes to complete certification of those acres as soon as possible to assist the office with preparations for potential program implementation.

LFP provides financial assistance to livestock producers and contract growers who also are producers of grazed forage crop acres (native and improved pasture and crops planted specifically for grazing purposes) and who have suffered a loss due to a qualifying drought during the grazing season. Other points regarding LFP and acreage certification:

• Producers must have a risk in the pasture or hay crop acres in order to complete the acreage certification process.
• In addition to the acreage reporting requirement, LFP applicants who lease acres must be able to support their application with either a written lease or an Annual Lease Certification (CCC-855).
• Producers who previously have certified grazing land through a continuous certification may want to contact the county FSA office to ensure that certification remains in place and reflects 2024 producers and shares.

Producers can contact the Johnson County FSA Office at (402) 335-3377 or the Nemaha County FSA Office at (402) 274-4987 for additional information or to schedule an appointment.

The  U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) is now accepting nominations for county committee members and encourages all farmers, ranchers, and FSA program participants to take part in the Johnson/Nemaha County Committee election nomination process. County committee members make important decisions about how federal farm programs are administered locally. All nomination forms for the 2024 election must be postmarked or received in the local FSA office by Aug. 1, 2024.   

Elections will occur in certain Local Administrative Areas (LAA) for members. LAAs are elective areas for FSA committees in a single county or multi-county jurisdiction. For Johnson County, elections will take place in LAA #2, which is comprised of the townships of Helena, Spring Creek, and Lincoln. For Nemaha County, elections will take place in LAA #1 which is comprised of the townships of Lafayette, Washington, and Benton. Customers can identify which LAA they or their farming or ranching operation is in by using our GIS locator tool available at fsa.usda.gov/elections.

Agricultural producers who participate or cooperate in a USDA program and reside in the LAA that is up for election this year may be nominated for candidacy for the county committee. A cooperating producer is someone who has provided information about their farming or ranching operation to FSA, even if they have not applied or received program benefits.

Individuals may nominate themselves or others and qualifying organizations also may nominate candidates. USDA encourages minority producers, women, and beginning farmers or ranchers to nominate, vote and hold office.   

Nationwide, more than 7,700 dedicated members of the agricultural community serve on FSA county committees. The committees are made up of 3 to 11 members who serve three-year terms. Committee members are vital to how FSA carries out disaster programs, as well as conservation, commodity and price support programs, county office employment and other agricultural issues.   

For more information on FSA county committee elections, including fact sheets, nomination forms and FAQs, visit fsa.usda.gov/elections. Individuals also can contact Johnson/Nemaha County FSA Executive Director Jordan Schaardt at (402) 335-3377 or (402) 274-4987 or via email at jordan.schaardt@usda.gov for additional information.