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Cole / Miller USDA Service Center Monthly Newsletter - February 24, 2025

In This Issue:

• Important Dates to Remember
• Applying for FSA Guaranteed Loans
• Producers Can Now Enroll in ARC and PLC

Important Dates to Remember

Cole / Miller FSA - 573-893-5196 x2
Cole NRCS - 573-893-5188 x3
Miller NRCS - 573-392-5667 x3  

Important Reporting Dates

March 1, 2025 – Livestock Forage Program (LFP) for grazing losses in 2024 – Signup deadline for Cole & Miller Counties

March 1, 2025 – Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm Raised Fish (/elap) for grazing losses in 2024 – Signup deadline for Cole & Miller Counties

March 31, 2025 – 2025 DMC Signup deadline

April 15, 2025 - Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) Programs deadline

May 15, 2025 – Final reporting date for Oats

Click here for detailed local deadlines and ongoing programs.  

FSA COC Meeting – Monthly
Wednesday, February 26, 2025 - 9:00 am

Cole County SWCD Meeting – Monthly
Tuesday, March 11, 2025 - 9:00 am

 Miller County SWCD Meeting
TBD

Gov Delivery Emails & Texts for FSA:
If you wish to receive newsletters by text alerts, send a text to FSANOW (372-669) to subscribe, using the following:

If you wish to receive the Cole &/or Miller County office newsletters, please type
MOCole or/& MOMiller

If you wish to receive the Missouri State office monthly newsletter, please type Missouri

Each mobile phone will need to complete these steps in order to receive text messages.  If you want to sign up to receive alerts by email, give the office a call

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Applying for FSA Guaranteed Loans

FSA guaranteed loans allow lenders to provide agricultural credit to farmers who do not meet the lender's normal underwriting criteria. Farmers and ranchers apply for a guaranteed loan through a lender, and the lender arranges for the guarantee. FSA can guarantee up to 95 percent of the loss of principal and interest on a loan. Guaranteed loans can be used for both farm ownership and operating purposes. 

Guaranteed farm ownership loans can be used to purchase farmland, construct or repair buildings, develop farmland to promote soil and water conservation or to refinance debt.

Guaranteed operating loans can be used to purchase livestock, farm equipment, feed, seed, fuel, farm chemicals, insurance and other operating expenses.

FSA can guarantee farm ownership and operating loans up to $2,251,000. Repayment terms vary depending on the type of loan, collateral and the producer's ability to repay the loan. Operating loans are normally repaid within seven years and farm ownership loans are not to exceed 40 years.

For more information on guaranteed loans, contact your Cole County USDA Service Center at 573-893-5196 ext. 2 or visit fsa.usda.gov.

Interest rates for Operating and Ownership loans for February 2025 are as follows:

https://www.fsa.usda.gov/news-events/news/02-03-2025/usda-announces-february-2025-lending-rates-agricultural-producers

Interest rates for Operating and Ownership loans for February 2025 are as follows:       

•  Farm Operating Loans (Direct): 5.125%  
•  Farm Ownership Loans (Direct): 5.500%  
•  Farm Ownership Loans (Direct, Joint Financing): 3.500%  
•  Farm Ownership Loans (Down Payment): 1.500% 
•  Emergency Loan (Amount of Actual Loss): 3.750%  

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Producers Can Now Enroll in ARC and PLC

USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is accepting enrollments and elections for the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) for 2025 from Jan. 21 to April 15.  ARC and PLC provide financial protections to farmers from substantial drops in crop prices or revenues and are vital economic safety nets for most American farms. The American Relief Act, 2025 extended many Farm Bill-authorized programs for another year, including ARC and PLC.  

Producers can elect coverage and enroll in ARC-County (ARC-CO) or PLC, which provide crop-by-crop protection, or ARC-Individual (ARC-IC), which protects the entire farm. Although election changes for 2025 are optional, producers must enroll through a signed contract each year. Also, if a producer has a multi-year contract on the farm it will continue for 2025 unless an election change is made.      

If producers do not submit their election revision by the April 15 deadline, their election remains the same as their 2024 election for commodities on the farm from the prior year. Farm owners cannot enroll in either program unless they have a share interest in the cropland.       

Covered commodities include barley, canola, large and small chickpeas, corn, crambe, flaxseed, grain sorghum, lentils, mustard seed, oats, peanuts, dry peas, rapeseed, long grain rice, medium grain rice, safflower seed, seed cotton, sesame, soybeans, sunflower seed and wheat.      

USDA also reminds producers that ARC and PLC elections and enrollments can impact eligibility for some crop insurance products including Supplemental Coverage Option, Enhanced Coverage Option and, for cotton producers, the Stacked Income Protection Plan (commonly referred to as STAX).  

For more information on ARC and PLC, producers can visit the ARC and PLC webpage or contact your Cole/Miller County USDA Service Center at 573-893-5196 x2

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