USDA Indiana FSA and NRCS Newsletter - March 11, 2025
In This Issue:
FSA is accepting applications for Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) for the 2025 coverage year through March 31, 2025.
DMC is a voluntary risk management program that offers protection to dairy producers when the difference between the all-milk price and the average feed price (the margin) falls below a certain dollar amount selected by the producer. The American Relief Act, 2025 extended many Farm Bill-authorized programs for another year, including DMC.
DMC offers different levels of coverage, even an option that is free to producers, minus a $100 administrative fee. The administrative fee is waived for dairy producers who are considered limited resource, beginning, socially disadvantaged or a military veteran.
DMC payments are calculated using updated feed and premium hay costs, making the program more reflective of actual dairy producer expenses. These updated feed calculations use 100% premium alfalfa hay. For more information on DMC, visit the DMC webpage or contact your local USDA Service Center.
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2025 Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) Sales Closing Date for the following crops is March 17th.
Indiana's Upcoming NAP Sales Closing Dates:
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March 17 for the following annual spring/summer planted crops: beans, beets, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, canola, cantaloupes, carrots, cauliflower, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, greens, herbs, honeydew, lettuce, oats, okra, onions, peas, peppers, potatoes, pumpkins, radishes, sorghum, squash, tomatillos, tomatoes, and watermelons. The list is not all-inclusive.
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May 31 for Nursery (Ornamental Nursery and Nonornamental Propagation Nursery) for the Crop Year June 1 - May 31.
NAP provides financial assistance to producers of non-insurable crops impacted by natural disasters that result in lower yields, crop losses, or prevented crop planting.
NAP covers losses from natural disasters on crops for which no permanent federal crop insurance program is available, including forage and grazing crops, fruits, vegetables, floriculture, ornamental nursery, aquaculture, turf grass and more.
To learn more about NAP visit fsa.usda.gov/nap or contact your local USDA Service Center.
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FSA is accepting enrollments and elections for the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) for 2025 from January 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 local USDA Service Center.
USDA's updates to FSA's Farm Loan Programs are officially in effect. These changes, part of the Enhancing Program Access and Delivery for Farm Loans rule, are designed to increase financial flexibility for agricultural producers, allowing them to grow their operations, boost profitability, and build long-term savings.
These program updates reflect USDA’s ongoing commitment to supporting the financial success and resilience of farmers and ranchers nationwide, offering critical tools to help borrowers manage their finances more effectively.
What the new rules mean for you:
- Low-interest installment set-aside program: Financially distressed borrowers can now defer up to one annual loan payment at a reduced interest rate. This simplified option helps ease financial pressure while keeping farming operations running smoothly.
- Flexible repayment terms: New repayment options give borrowers the ability to increase their cash flow and build working capital reserves, allowing for long-term financial planning that includes saving for retirement, education, and other future needs.
- Reduced collateral requirements: FSA has lowered the amount of additional loan security needed for direct farm loans, making it easier for borrowers to leverage their existing equity without putting their personal residence at risk.
These new rules provide more financial freedom to borrowers. By giving farmers and ranchers better tools to manage their operations, we’re helping them build long-term financial stability. It’s all about making sure they can keep their land, grow their business, and invest in the future.
If you’re an FSA borrower or considering applying for a loan, now is the time to take advantage of these new policies. We encourage you to reach out to your local FSA farm loan staff to ensure you fully understand the wide range of loan making and servicing options available to assist with starting, expanding, or maintaining your agricultural operation.
To conduct business with FSA, please contact your local USDA Service Center.
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FSA is committed to providing our farm loan borrowers the tools necessary to be successful. FSA staff will provide guidance and counsel from the loan application process through the borrower’s graduation to commercial credit. While it is FSA’s commitment to advise borrowers as they identify goals and evaluate progress, it is crucial for borrowers to communicate with their farm loan staff when changes occur. It is the borrower’s responsibility to alert FSA to any of the following:
- Any proposed or significant changes in the farming operation
- Any significant changes to family income or expenses
- The development of problem situations
- Any losses or proposed significant changes in security
If a farm loan borrower can’t make payments to suppliers, other creditors, or FSA on time, contact your farm loan staff immediately to discuss loan servicing options.
For more information on FSA farm loan programs, contact your local USDA Service Center or visit fsa.usda.gov.
NRCS works to help farmers and forest landowners invest in their operations and local communities to keep working lands working, boost rural economies, increase the competitiveness of American agriculture and improve the quality of our air, water, soil and wildlife habitat.
Simply put – NRCS helps America’s farmers and forestland owners make conservation work for them.
Our Conservation Technical Assistance (CTA) program enables every acre of voluntary conservation applied through every program NRCS administers. It is the foundation of our financial and technical assistance delivery system.
Every farm and acre is unique and requires tailored management; and every decision maker has different management concerns and needs. Our technical assistance is one-on-one, personalized advice and support to help producers make the best decisions for their lands – and is offered free of charge.
This personalized assistance provides producers with the science-based data and tools to make informed decisions about where to target efforts to get the greatest return on their investment and ensure the long-term sustainability of American agriculture.
A comprehensive conservation plan is the first step to managing all the natural resources on a farm. NRCS walks the farm with the producer and develops options to address that producer’s needs. Our toolbox includes aerial photos, soil surveys, engineering solutions and individual science-based analysis customized for the producer’s property. The plan we develop with the producer combines existing production methods with recommended conservation practices to best manage that farm’s unique natural resources, while allowing the producer to grow sustainably and productively. Supported by our expert analysis and recommendations, the producer chooses which option best meets their needs. These decisions become the producer’s conservation plan, a step-by-step guide to reach their objectives.
This planning process also makes it easier to identify how and when the farmer, rancher or forest landowner could qualify for Farm Bill financial assistance to help them install conservation systems or receive incentives for trying new ones. We have the expertise to see our customers through this process. Because identifying when, where and how to implement practices is not plug and play.
The final plan provides a roadmap for the producer to meet their natural resource conservation goals. It includes helpful information on each of the producer’s practices, such as how they benefit the farm, how to maintain them, and how they help the soil, water and wildlife.
By developing a conservation plan and adding conservation to the land, farmers, ranchers and forest landowners can protect the land’s ability to provide for their family and future generations.
With offices in communities nationwide, NRCS staff provide the information, tools and delivery systems necessary for producers – in every state and territory – to conserve, maintain and improve their natural resources.
Contact your local USDA service center to find out more.
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How much fuel can farmers save each year by transitioning from conventional tillage to continuous no-till? According to a report from USDA’s Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP), 3.6 gallons per acre is a reasonable estimate. With current off-road diesel fuel prices, this could translate into approximately $17 per acre saved annually.
Nearly 87 percent of all cropland acres nationwide are farmed using some form of conservation tillage, where tillage is reduced for at least one crop within a given field. Continuous no-till accounts for 33 percent of this total.
Improving soil health is one known benefit of limiting disturbance. Farmers who minimize tillage across their operation may reduce soil erosion, maximize water infiltration, improve nutrient cycling, build organic matter, and strengthen resilience to disaster events or challenging growing conditions. Based on the latest data, they may also use significantly less fuel than with conventional tillage and reduce their associated carbon dioxide emissions.
According to CEAP, farmers who implement conservation tillage practices instead of continuous conventional tillage:
- Reduce potential nationwide fuel use by 763 million gallons of diesel equivalents each year, roughly the amount of energy used by 2.8 million households.
- Reduce potential associated emissions by 8.5 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalents each year, equivalent to removing nearly 1.7 million gasoline-powered passenger vehicles from the road.
How is this possible? Annually, farmers who practice continuous no-till use approximately 3.6 fewer gallons of fuel per acre than if they practiced continuous conventional tillage. Farmers who practice seasonal no-till – farming without tilling for at least one crop – use approximately 3 fewer gallons of fuel per acre than they would with conventional tillage year-round.
Acre by acre, fuel saved is money saved. Let’s assume an average off-road diesel fuel price of $4.75 per gallon*. By transitioning from continuous conventional tillage to continuous no-till, a farmer can save just over $17 per acre each year in fuel costs. A farmer who transitions from continuous conventional tillage to seasonal no-till can save more than $14 per acre on fuel annually. These potential savings are significantly larger than with CEAP’s first fuel savings report, primarily due to the current price of diesel fuel.
The bottom line for farmers: Reducing tillage leads to fuel savings that deliver significant financial benefits while building healthier soils for a more resilient operation.
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Don’t know much about Federal crop insurance, but you want to learn more?
Crop insurance is a risk management strategy that farmers use to protect their livelihoods. By purchasing a policy through a crop insurance agent, farmers are financially protected if there are losses due to a covered cause of loss. It’s not so different from car or homeowners insurance.
Start your journey out right by reading Risk Management Agency’s Beginners Guide to Crop Insurance.
USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) reminds agricultural producers that the final date to apply for or make changes to their existing crop insurance coverage is quickly approaching for spring planted crops, Whole-Farm Revenue Protection and Micro Farm. Sales closing dates vary by crop and location, but the next major sales closing dates are March 15 and April 15.
RMA lists sales closing dates in the Actuarial Information Browser, under the “Dates” tab.
Producers can also access the RMA Map Viewer tool to visualize the insurance program date choices for acreage reporting, cancellation, contract change, earliest planting, end of insurance, end of late planting period, final planting, premium billing, production reporting, sales closing, and termination dates, when applicable, per commodity, insurance plan, type and practice. Additionally, producers can access the RMA Information Reporting System tool to specifically identify applicable dates for their operation, using the “Insurance Offer Reports” application.
Federal crop insurance is critical to the farm safety net. It helps producers and owners manage revenue risks and strengthens the rural economy. Producers may select from several coverage options, including yield coverage, revenue protection and area risk plans of insurance.
Crop insurance options include Whole-Farm Revenue Protection and Micro Farm. Whole-Farm Revenue Protection provides a risk management safety net for all commodities on the farm under one insurance policy and is available in all counties nationwide. Micro Farm, introduced in 2021, aims to help direct market and small-scale producers that may sell locally, and this policy simplifies record keeping and covers post-production costs like washing and value-added products.
Producers can find additional information on the Actuarial Information Browser.
Producers are encouraged to visit their crop insurance agent soon to learn specific details for the 2025 crop year. Crop insurance coverage decisions must be made on or before the sales closing date.
Crop insurance is sold and delivered solely through private crop insurance agents. A list of crop insurance agents is available online at the RMA Agent Locator. Producers can learn more about crop insurance and the modern farm safety net at rma.usda.gov or by contacting their RMA Regional Office.
USDA announced loan interest rates for March 2025, which are effective March 1, 2025. 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.
Additionally, FSA provides low-interest financing to producers to build or upgrade on-farm storage facilities and purchase handling equipment and loans that provide interim financing to help producers meet cash flow needs without having to sell their commodities when market prices are low. Funds for these loans are provided through the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) and are administered by FSA.
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March 17
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NAP Sales Closing Date for annual spring/summer planted crops not limited to: beans, beets, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, canola, cantaloupes, carrots, cauliflower, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, greens, herbs, honeydew, lettuce, oats, okra, onions, peas, peppers, potatoes, pumpkins, radishes, sorghum, squash, tomatillos, tomatoes, and watermelons
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March 31
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Final Date to Obtain Loans or Loan Deficiency Payments (LDP’s) on 2024 Harvested Small Grains
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March 31
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Final Date to Apply for coverage under the 2025 Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) Program
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April 1
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Nesting Season begins for Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) Practices
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April 15
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Deadline to sign up for the 2025 Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) Programs
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Indiana FSA and NRCS State Office
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Service Center Locator
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Farm Service Agency
5981 Lakeside Blvd
Indianapolis IN 46278
Phone: 317-290-3315
Fax: 855-374-4068
fsa.usda.gov/in
Acting State Executive Director
Susan Houston
susan.houston@usda.gov
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Natural Resources
Conservation Service
6013 Lakeside Blvd
Indianapolis IN 46278
Phone: 317-295-5800
nrcs.usda.gov/in
State Conservationist
Demarys Mortenson
damarys.mortenson@usda.gov
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Indiana FSA State Committee
Travis Nolcox, Chairperson
(Gibson County)
Amanda Berenda (Benton County)
Joe Pearson (Grant County)
Beth Tharp, (Putnam County)
Emily Wilson (Decatur County)
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Risk Management Agency
3500 Wabash Avenue
Springfield, IL 62711-8287
Phone: 217-241-6600
Fax: 217-241-6618
rma.usda.gov
Regional Office Director
Brian Frieden
rsoil@usda.gov
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