Newsletter from the USDA Service Center in Berks County - October 8, 2024
In This Issue:
Maps are now available at the Berks County FSA Office for acreage reporting purposes. If you wish to receive your maps by e-mail, please call our office or email Nakku Senkeeto at nakku.senkeeto@usda.gov. Please see the following acreage reporting deadlines for Berks County:
November 15, 2024 - Fall seeded wheat, barley, oats, forage and all other fall seeded small grains
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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ALLEN L. LEIBY is nominated in LAA 3, Berks County, to serve as COC member for a 3-year term beginning January 1, 2025. Allen resides in LAA 3, and has produced crops for over 60 years. Allen is an active member of the Kingsmen Club in Kutztown. Allen is willing to serve if elected.
TROY ALDERFER is nominated in LAA 3, Berks County, to serve as COC member for a 3-year term beginning January 1, 2025. Troy resides in Oley, PA. Troy is a crop farmer, raises poultry and replacement dairy heifers for 28 years. He also sells Agri gold seed. Troy is willing to serve if elected.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) reminds agricultural producers that Farm Loan Programs can be used to support a variety of climate-smart agriculture practices, which build on many practices that farmers and ranchers already use, like cover cropping, nutrient management and conservation tillage.
Climate-smart agricultural practices generate significant environmental benefits by capturing and sequestering carbon, improving water management, restoring soil health and more. Farm loan funding complements other tools to help producers adopt climate-smart practices, such as FSA’s Conservation Reserve Program, crop insurance options that support conservation, and conservation programs offered by USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).
FSA offers multiple types of loans to help farmers and ranchers start, expand or maintain a family agricultural operation. These loans can provide the capital needed to invest in climate-smart practices and equipment including the establishment of rotational grazing systems, precision agriculture equipment or machinery for conversion to no-till residue management. Additionally, for programs like Conservation Reserve Program and NRCS conservation programs where USDA and the producer share the implementation cost, a farm loan could be used for the producer’s share, if consistent with the authorized loan purpose.
Some additional ways farm loans can be leveraged to invest in climate-smart agriculture practices or equipment include:
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Precision Agriculture Equipment - Eligible producers could use a Term Operating Loan to purchase equipment like GPS globes, monitors, or strip till fertilizer equipment.
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Cover Crops - Eligible producers could use an Annual Operating Loan for seed costs.
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No/Reduced Till - Eligible producers could use a Term Operating Loan to purchase equipment.
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Livestock Facility Air Scrubber or Waste Treatment - Eligible producers could use a Farm Ownership Loan for capital improvements to livestock facilities.
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Cross Fencing - Eligible producers could use an Annual or Term Operating Loan to purchase fencing and installation equipment.
Visit the Climate-Smart Agriculture and Forestry webpage on farmers.gov to learn more and see detailed examples of how an FSA farm loan can support climate-smart agriculture practices.
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The Biden-Harris Administration today announced that it made record investments in private lands conservation in fiscal year 2023 thanks to historic resources made available by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, the largest investment in climate action in history.
In fiscal year 2023, USDA supported more than 45,000 conservation contracts, more than any year in the 89-year history of USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), totaling over $2.8 billion in financial assistance to producers for conservation efforts. NRCS also released updated state-by-state data showing where investments went in FY2023 for resources provided under both the Farm Bill and Inflation Reduction Act.
The last year showed unprecedented demand for conservation from farmers and ranchers, with applications outpacing available funding. Even with the additional Inflation Reduction Act funding, NRCS had significant unmet producer demand for conservation through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP). In addition, NRCS received $2.2 billion in Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) proposals in fiscal year 2023 but was only able to fund half of the projects. A total of $19.5 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act is available over several years for climate-smart agriculture and forestry mitigation activities, including through NRCS conservation programs – EQIP, ACEP, RCPP and the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). Implementation began in fiscal year 2023, when NRCS made $850 million available in financial and technical assistance through the Inflation Reduction Act. In fiscal year 2024, the second year of implementation, NRCS is making over $3 billion available from the Inflation Reduction Act in addition to the $2 billion in Farm Bill funding.
Details on program enrollment in fiscal year 2023 are available in a fact sheet, an Inflation Reduction Act Data Visualization Tool and NRCS Financial Assistance Program Data.
To learn more about NRCS programs, producers can contact their local USDA Service Center. Producers can also apply for NRCS programs, manage conservation plans and contracts, and view and print conservation maps by logging into their farmers.gov account. If you don’t have an account, sign up today.
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Berks County USDA Service Center
1238 County Welfare Road
Suite 240
Leesport, PA 19533
Phone: 610-478-7158
Fax: 855-822-1791
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FSA County Executive Director
Nakku Senkeeto 610-478-7158, ext. 2 nakku.senkeeto@usda.gov
Berks County District Conservationist
Nicholas Ramsey 610-478-7158, ext. 3 nicholas.ramsey@usda.gov
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FSA Farm Loan Manager
Kevin Lusch 610-478-7158, ext. 2 kevin.lusch@usda.gov
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