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Carroll County, MO USDA Service Center Bulletin - February 19, 2025

In This Issue:

• Local News and Updates
• Producers Can Now Enroll in ARC and PLC
• Applying for Farm Storage Facility Loans
• Applying for FSA Guaranteed Loans
• Buffers Boast Benefits On & Off Farms
• Food Plots Bring a Variety of Wildlife to Farms

Local News and Updates

Dates to Remember/Announcements 
   
February 17, 2025 - USAD FSA Offices closed in observance of President's Day 

Office Status: USDA Service Centers allow walk-ins during business hours, but you may call ahead and schedule an appointment anytime. Masks are not required, but we respect your choice in the decision to wear one. We will continue to help producers however we can, whether that is in person, by phone, email, fax or mail. 

Record Update: If there are any Power of Attorney (POA) forms recorded in the office, it is recommended that an updated form be obtained from the grantor, regardless of current program participation. Also, if any POA's need to be revoked, please contact the office. 

We remind you to report any changes of bank accounts, address, zip code, phone number, email address or an incorrect name or business name on file to our office. you should also report changes in your farm operation, additions of a farm by lease or purchase. 

Gov Delivery Emails and Texts: The office sends out monthly updates full of information such as deadline reminders, program notifications, reporting requirements, and local outreach events. If you wish to sign up for these alerts by text messaging type MOCarroll to FSANOW (372-669) to subscribe. If you want to sign up to receive alerts by email, give the office a call. 

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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 Carroll County USDA Service Center at 660-542-8732. 

Applying for Farm Storage Facility Loans

The Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) Farm Storage Facility Loan (FSFL) program provides low-interest financing to help you build or upgrade storage facilities and to purchase portable (new or used) structures, equipment and storage and handling trucks.

Eligible commodities include corn, grain sorghum, rice, soybeans, oats, peanuts, wheat, barley, minor oilseeds harvested as whole grain, pulse crops (lentils, chickpeas and dry peas), hay, honey, renewable biomass, fruits, nuts and vegetables for cold storage facilities, floriculture, hops, maple sap, rye, milk, cheese, butter, yogurt, meat and poultry (unprocessed), eggs, and aquaculture (excluding systems that maintain live animals through uptake and discharge of water). Qualified facilities include grain bins, hay barns and cold storage facilities for eligible commodities.

Loans up to $50,000 can be secured by a promissory note/security agreement, loans between $50,000 and $100,000 may require additional security, and loans exceeding $100,000 require additional security.

You do not need to demonstrate the lack of commercial credit availability to apply. The loans are designed to assist a diverse range of farming operations, including small and mid-sized businesses, new farmers, operations supplying local food and farmers markets, non-traditional farm products, and underserved producers.

For more information, contact your Carroll County USDA Service Center at 660-542-8732 or visit fsa.usda.gov/pricesupport.

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 Carroll County USDA Service Center at 660-542-8732 or visit fsa.usda.gov.

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Buffers Boast Benefits On & Off Farms

The word “buffer” may evoke a safety net, a filter or an area of shrubs and trees. In the landscape context, that’s pretty much what it is. A buffer, when referred to by a conservationist at the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), is a small strip of land of trees, shrubs and other plants. This strip provides protection from things like wind or pollutants entering waterways and plays a crucial role as a safety net for the environment.

If properly used, buffers remove more than 50 percent of nutrients and pesticides, 60 percent of some pathogens and 75 percent of sediment. In addition to trapping pollutants, buffers slow water runoff and increase the amount of water that enters the ground, recharging our aquifers and protecting communities downstream from flooding.

During the winter buffers help trap snow and cut down on soil erosion in areas with strong winds. They also can protect livestock and wildlife from harsh weather, shield buildings from wind damage and reduce noise and odor coming from a farm. Buffers also give many benefits for local wildlife. They provide food and shelter for many wildlife species like quail, rabbit and other fun-to-watch species while serving as corridor connectors that enable wildlife to move safely from one habitat area to another.

The NRCS helps private landowners create buffers on their land, along waterways and between fields. If used as part of a comprehensive conservation system, buffers make good use of areas that are not ideal for growing crops or other uses.

For more information, contact your local USDA Service Center or visit nrcs.usda.gov.

Food Plots Bring a Variety of Wildlife to Farms

Food for wildlife can be scarce during the winter. And many landowners are using food plots to provide food for them during the colder months. A food plot adds plant diversity, food and cover to the landscape. It can be particularly useful for providing a winter or early spring food source. Where fall plowing buries the majority of crop residue, food plots are an excellent choice to encourage wildlife survival. USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service works with many landowners to provide technical assistance, and in some cases financial assistance, to establish food plots on their land.

Legume-based, perennial food plots, for instance, may supplement the energy needs for big game species, such as white-tail deer, during times of the year when there are few available sources to eat. In most cases, food plots are also tied to planting pollinator habitat, native warm-season grasses and tree planting for cover.

The different components of a wildlife management plan help tie all the missing pieces of the puzzle together for a landowner, helping to meet their individual farm goals for wildlife management. As an added benefit, these new habitat acres have a ripple effect, bringing more and more wildlife to the surrounding areas.

For more information, contact your local USDA Service Center or visit nrcs.usda.gov.

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