The Press-Dispatch

July 11, 2018

The Press-Dispatch

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D-2 Pike County Planter SWCD Newsletter Quarter 3, 2018 The Press-Dispatch Committed to Helping You Grow Maximize the efficiency of your farm with reliable, high-performance fuel! We're committed to delivering premium, top quality diesel fuel at a good price. FRETTE ENERGY CO., INC. 504 West Walnut Street, Washington 812-254-3671 • 800-326-1966 Your Local Delivery Man TIM FEARS 812-486-9311 F R E T T E E N E R G Y Pike County Farm Service Agency news By Amy R Barber County Executive Director Pike County FSA FARM SERVICE AGENCY COUNTY COMMITTEE NOMINATION PERIOD IN PIKE COUNTY OPEN The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) encourages America's farmers and ranchers to nominate candidates to lead, ser ve and represent their community on their local county committee. Accord - ing to USDA's Farm Ser vice Agency (FSA) Pike County Executive Director Amy Barber, FSA will accept nominations for county committee members beginning Friday, June 15, 2018. Producers across the countr y are already ser ving on committees where they play a critical role in the day-to-day opera - tions of FSA, making important decisions on programs dealing with disaster and conser vation, emergencies, commodity loan price support, county office employ - ment and other agricultural issues. "County committees are unique to FSA and allow producers to have a voice on federal farm program implementation at the local level," said Barber. "It is also important that committees are comprised of members who fairly represent the diverse demographics of production agri - culture for their community. I encourage all producers, including women, minority and beginning farmers and ranchers, to participate in the nomination and election process." Nationwide, more than 7,700 dedicated farmers and ranchers ser ve on FSA county committees, which consist of three to 11 members and meet once a month, or as needed. Members ser ve three-year terms. Producers can nominate themselves or others. Organizations, including those rep - resenting beginning, women and minority producers, may also nominate candidates to better ser ve their communities. To be eligible to ser ve on an FSA county com - mittee, producers must participate or co- operate in an FSA program and reside in the area where the election is being held. This year, nominations and elections for Pike County will be held in local adminis - trative area #2, which includes Jefferson and Washington Townships. To be considered, a producer must sign an FSA-669A nomination form. The form and other information about FSA county committee elections are available at www. fsa.usda.gov/elections, or from the Pike County FSA office. All nomination forms for the 2018 election must be postmarked or received in the local FSA office by Aug. 1, 2018. Visit farmers.gov for more information. Election ballots will be mailed to eligible voters beginning Nov. 5, 2018. Read more to learn about important election dates. 2018 ACREAGE REPORTING DATES In order to comply with FSA program eligibility requirements, all producers are encouraged to visit your local county FSA office to file an accurate crop certification report by the applicable deadline. Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) policy holders should note that the acreage reporting date for NAP covered crops is the earlier of the dates listed below or 15 calendar days before grazing or har vesting of the crop begins. The following acreage reporting dates are applicable for Indiana: Januar y 2 – Honey July 16 – Corn, Soybeans, grain sor - ghum and all other crops September 30—Value Loss and Con- trolled Environment Crop (for the coming program year) November 15—Perennial Grazing and Forage Crops (alfalfa, grass, mixed for - ages, clover, etc.) December 15—Fall Mint, Fall-Seeded Small Grains The following exceptions apply to the above acreage reporting dates: If the crop has not been planted by the above acreage reporting date, then the acreage must be reported no later than 15 calendar days after planting is completed. If a producer acquires additional acre - age after the above acreage reporting date, then the acreage must be reported no later than 30 calendar days after pur- chase or acquiring the lease. Appropriate documentation must be provided to the county office. If a perennial forage crop is reported with the intended use of "cover only," "green manure," "left standing," or "seed," then the acreage must be reported by July 15th. For questions regarding crop certifica - tion and crop loss reports, please contact your local county FSA office. PIKE COUNTY UPCOMING DEADLINES AND IMPORTANT DATES The USDA Pike County Farm Ser vice Agency (FSA) office will be closed on July 4 in obser vance of Independence Day. The final date to submit a prevented planting claim for corn is June 20 and for soybeans is July 5. The reporting date for most spring planted crops is July 15. Contact or visit the Pike County FSA office for a full customer calendar with program deadlines, NAP crop closure dates, obser ved holidays and more. The Pike County office can be reached at 812- 354-6120 ext 2. USDA RESUMES CONTINUOUS CONSERVATION RESERVE PROGRAM ENROLLMENT One-Year Extension Available to Hold- ers of Many Expiring Contracts through Continuous Sign-up. As part of a 33-year effort to protect sensitive lands and improve water quality and wildlife habitat on private lands, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will resume accepting applications for the voluntar y Conser vation Reser ve Program (CRP). Eligible farmers, ranchers, and private landowners can sign up at their local Farm Ser vice Agency (FSA) office between June 4 and Aug. 17, 2018. FSA stopped accepting applications last fall for the CRP continuous signup (excluding applications for the Conser - vation Reser ve Enhancement Program (CREP) and CRP grasslands). This pause allowed USDA to review available acres and avoid exceeding the 24 million-acre CRP cap set by the 2014 Farm Bill. New limited practice availability and short sign up period helps ensure that landowners with the most sensitive acreage will enroll in the program and avoid unintended com - petition with new and beginning farmers seeking leases. CRP enrollment currently is about 22.7 million acres. 2018 SIGNUP FOR CRP For this year's signup, limited prior- ity practices are available for continuous enrollment. They include grassed water- ways, filter strips, riparian buffers, wetland restoration and others. View a full list of practices. FSA will use updated soil rental rates to make annual rental payments, reflecting current values. It will not offer incentive payments as part of the new signup. USDA will not open a general signup this year, however, a one-year extension will be offered to existing CRP partici - pants with expiring CRP contracts of 14 years or less. Producers eligible for an extension will receive a letter with more information. CRP GRASSLANDS Additionally, FSA established new ranking criteria for CRP Grasslands. To guarantee all CRP grasslands offers are treated equally, applicants who previously applied will be asked to reapply using the new ranking criteria. Producers with pending applications will receive a letter providing the options. ABOUT CRP In return for enrolling land in CRP, USDA, through FSA on behalf of the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), provides participants with annual rental payments and cost-share assistance. Landowners enter into contracts that last between 10 and 15 years. CRP pays producers who remove sensitive lands from production and plant certain grasses, shrubs and trees that improve water quality, prevent soil erosion and increase wildlife habitat. The new changes to CRP do not impact the Conser vation Reser ve Enhancement Program, a related program offered by CCC and state partners. Producers wanting to apply for the CRP continuous signup or CRP grasslands should contact their USDA ser vice center. To locate your local FSA office, visit https:// www.farmers.gov. More information on CRP can be found at www.fsa.usda.gov/crp. FARM STORAGE FACILITY LOANS FSA's Farm Storage Facility Loan (FSFL) program provides low-interest financing to producers to build or upgrade storage facilities. The low-interest funds can be used to build or upgrade permanent facilities to store commodities. Eligible commodities include corn, grain sorghum, rice, soy - beans, oats, peanuts, wheat, barley, minor oilseeds har vested as whole grain, pulse crops (lentils, chickpeas and dr y peas), hay, honey, renewable biomass, fruits, nuts and vegetables for cold storage facilities, floriculture, hops, maple sap, r ye, milk, cheese, butter, yogurt, meat and poultr y (unprocessed), eggs, and aquaculture (ex - cluding 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 promissor y note/security agreement and loans between $50,000 and $100,000 may require additional security. Loans exceed - ing $100,000 require additional security. Producers do not need to demonstrate the lack of commercial credit availability to apply. The loans are designed to assist a di - verse range of farming operations, includ- ing small and mid-sized businesses, new farmers, operations supplying local food and farmers markets, non-traditional farm products, and underser ved producers. To learn more about the FSA Farm Storage Facility Loan, visit www.fsa.usda. gov/pricesupport or contact your local FSA county office. To find your local FSA county office, visit http://offices.usda.gov. MAL AND LDP POLICY The Agricultural Act of 2014 authorized 2014-2018 crop year Marketing Assistance Loans (MALs) and Loan Deficiency Pay- ments (LDPs), with a few minor policy changes. MALs and LDPs provide financing and marketing assistance for wheat, feed grains, soybeans, and other oilseeds, pulse crops, wool and honey. MALs provide producers interim financing after har vest to help them meet cash flow needs without having to sell their commodities when market prices are typically at har vest-time lows. A producer who is eligible to obtain a loan, but agrees to forgo the loan, may obtain an LDP if such a payment is avail - able. Marketing loan provisions and LDPs are not available for sugar and extra-long staple cotton. Before MAL market gain repayments and LDP disbursements can be made, producers must meet the requirements of actively engaged in farming, cash rent tenant and member contribution. Additionally, form CCC-902 and CCC-901 must be submitted for the 2016 crop year, if applicable, with a county committee deter- mination and updated subsidiar y files. To be considered eligible for an LDP, producers must have form CCC-633EZ, Page 1 on file at their local FSA Office before losing beneficial interest in the crop. Pages 2, 3 or 4 of the form must be submitted when payment is requested. The 2014 Farm Bill also establishes payment limitations per individual or entity not to exceed $125,000 annually on certain commodities for the following program benefits: price loss coverage payments, ag - riculture risk coverage payments, market- ing loan gains (MLGs) and LDPs. These payment limitations do not apply to MAL loan disbursements. Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) provi - sions were modified by the 2014 Farm Bill, which states that a producer whose total applicable three-year average AGI exceeds $900,000 is not eligible to receive an MLG or LDP. For more information and additional eli - gibility requirements, please visit a nearby USDA Ser vice Center or FSA's website www.fsa.usda.gov. MAINTAINING THE QUALITY OF FARM- STORED LOAN GRAIN Bins are ideally designed to hold a level volume of grain. When bins are overfilled and grain is heaped up, airflow is hindered and the chance of spoilage increases. Producers who take out marketing assis - tance loans and use the farm-stored grain as collateral should remember that they are responsible for maintaining the quality of the grain through the term of the loan. UNAUTHORIZED DISPOSITION OF GRAIN If loan grain has been disposed of through feeding, selling or any other form of disposal without prior written authorization from the county office staff, it is considered unauthorized disposition. The financial penalties for unauthorized dispositions are severe and a producer's name will be placed on a loan violation list for a two-year period. Always call before you haul any grain under loan. In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and poli - cies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are pro- hibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income de - rived from a public assistance program, po- litical beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines var y by program or incident. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program informa - tion (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the responsible Agency or USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Ser vice at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English. To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at http://www.ascr.usda. gov/complaint_filing_cust.html and at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by: (1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretar y for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; (2) fax: (202) 690-7442; or (3) email: program.intake@usda.gov. USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

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