The Press-Dispatch
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C-2 Pike County Planter SWCD Newsletter Quarter 2, 2018 The Press-Dispatch *For commercial use. Offer subject to CNH Industrial Capital America LLC credit approval. See your New Holland dealer for details and eligibility requirements. Depending on model, a down payment may be required. Offer good through June 30, 2018, at participating New Holland dealers in the United States. Offer subject to change. Taxes, freight, set-up, delivery, additional op- tions or attachments not included in price. © 2018 CNH Industrial America LLC. All rights reserved. CNH Industrial Capital and New Holland Agriculture are trademarks registered in the United States and many other countries, owned by or licensed to CNH Industrial N.V., its sub- sidiaries or affiliates. 407 E. Kentucky, Holland • (812) 536-3486 www.BLESCHBROS.com Equipment Company Farm Service Agency News By Amy R. Barber County Executive Director Pike County Farm Ser vice Agency USDA ENROLLMENT PERIOD FOR SAFETY NET COVERAGE IN 2018 Farmers with base acres in the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) or Price Loss Coverage (PLC) safety net program may enroll for the 2018 crop year. The enrollment period will end on Aug. 1, 2018. Since shares and owner- ship of a farm can change year-to-year, producers must enroll by signing a contract each program year. The producers on a farm that are not enrolled for the 2018 enrollment period will not be eligible for financial assistance from the ARC or PLC programs for the 2018 crop should crop prices or farm revenues fall below the historical price or revenue benchmarks established by the program. Producers who made their elections in previous years must still enroll during the 2018 enrollment period. The ARC and PLC pro- grams were authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill and offer a safety net to agricultural producers when there is a substantial drop in prices or revenues for covered com- modities. Covered commod- ities include barley, canola, large and small chickpeas, corn, crambe, flaxseed, grain sorghum, lentils, mus- tard seed, oats, peanuts, dr y peas, rapeseed, long grain rice, medium grain rice (which includes short grain and sweet rice), safflower seed, sesame, soybeans, sunflower seed and wheat. Upland cotton is no longer a covered commodity. For more details regarding these programs, go to www. fsa.usda.gov/arc-plc. For more information, producers are encouraged to visit their local FSA office. To find a local FSA office, visit http://offices. usda.gov. ARC/PLC ACREAGE MAINTENANCE Producers enrolled in the Agriculture Risk Cover- age (ARC) or Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs must protect all cropland and noncropland acres on the farm from wind and water erosion and noxious weeds. Producers who sign ARC county or individual contracts and PLC contracts agree to effectively control noxious weeds on the farm according to sound agricul- tural practices. If a producer fails to take necessar y actions to correct a main- tenance problem on a farm that is enrolled in ARC or PLC, the County Committee may elect to terminate the contract for the program year. POLICY UPDATES FOR ACREAGE REPORTING The USDA Farm Ser vice Agency (FSA) recently made several policy updates for acreage reporting for cover crops, revising intend- ed use, late-filed provisions, grazing allotments as well as updated the definitions of "idle" and "fallow." Reporting Cover Crops: FSA made changes to the types of cover crops. Cover crop types can be chosen from the following four categories: Cereals and other grass- es—Any cover crop that is classified as a grass plant or cereal grain, and would in- clude, but not be limited to, the following cover crops: cereal r ye, wheat, barley, oats, black oats, triticale, annual r yegrass, pearl mil- let, foxtail millet (also called German, Italian or Hungar- ian millet), sorghum sudan grass, sorghum and other millets and grasses. Legumes: Any cover crop that is classified as a legume, including, but not limited to, clovers, vetches, peas, sun hemp, cowpeas, lentils and other legumes. Brassicas and other broadleaves: Any cover crop that is classified as a non-legume broadleaf, including, but not limited to, Brassicas such as radishes, turnips, canola, rapeseed, oilseed rape, and mustards, as well as other broadleaf plants such as phacelia, flax, sunflower, buckwheat, and safflower. Mixtures: Mixes of two or more cover crop species planted at the same time, for example, oats and radishes. If the cover crop is har vested for any use other than forage or grazing and is not terminated according to policy guidelines, then that crop will no longer be considered a cover crop and the acreage report must be revised to reflect the actual crop. Permitted Revision of Intended use After Acreage Reporting Date New operators or owners who pick up a farm after the acreage reporting deadline has passed and the crop has already been reported on the farm, have 30 days to change the intended use. Producer share interest changes alone will not allow for revisions to intended use after the acreage report- ing date. The revision must be performed by either the acreage reporting date or within 30 calendar days from the date when the new operator or owner acquired the lease on land, control of the land or ownership and new producer crop share interest in the previously reported crop acreage. Under this policy, appropri- ate documentation must be provided to the County Committee's satisfaction to determine that a legitimate operator or ownership and producer crop share interest change occurred to permit the revision. ACREAGE REPORTS: In order to maintain program eligibility and benefits, producers must timely file acreage reports. Failure to file an acreage report by the crop acreage reporting deadline may re- sult in ineligibility for future program benefits. FSA will not accept acreage reports provided more than a year after the acreage reporting deadline. REPORTING GRAZING ALLOTMENTS: FSA offices can now accept acreage reports for grazing allotments. Producers will use form "FSA-578" to report grazing allotments as animal unit months (AUMs) using the "Reporting Unit" field. The local FSA office will need the grazing period start and end date and the percent of public land. Definitions of Terms FSA defines "idle" as cropland or a balance of cropland within a Common Land Unit (CLU) (field/sub- field) which is not planted or considered not planted and does not meet the defi- nition of fallow or skip row. For example, the balance of a field that could not be planted due to moisture or a turn area that is not planted would be reported as idle. Fallow is considered unplanted cropland acres which are part of a crop/ fallow rotation where culti- vated land that is normally planted is purposely kept out of production during a regular growing season. Resting the ground in this manner allows it to recover its fertility and conser ve moisture for crop produc- tion in the next growing season. Cover Crop Guidelines Recently the Farm Ser vice Agency (FSA), Natural Resources Conser- vation Ser vice (NRCS) and Risk Management Agency (RMA) worked together to develop consistent, simple and a flexible policy for cover crop practices. The termination and reporting guidelines were updated for cover crops. Termination: The cover crop termina- tion guidelines provide the timeline for terminating cover crops, are based on zones and apply to non- irrigated cropland. To view the zones and additional guidelines visit https:// www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/ portal/nrcs/main/national/ landuse/crops/ and click "Cover Crop Termination Guidelines." Reporting: The intended use of cover only will be used to report cover crops. This includes crops that were terminated by tillage and reported with an intended use code of green manure. An FSA policy change will allow cover crops to be hayed and grazed. Program eligibility for the cover crop that is be- ing hayed or grazed will be determined by each specific program. If the crop reported as cover only is har vested for any use other than for- age or grazing and is not terminated properly, then that crop will no longer be considered a cover crop. Crops reported with an intended use of cover only will not count toward the total cropland on the farm. In these situations a subse- quent crop will be reported to account for all cropland on the farm. Cover crops include grasses, legumes, and forbs, for seasonal cover and other conser vation purposes. Cover crops are primarily used for erosion control, soil health Improve- ment, and water quality improvement. The cover crop may be terminated by natural causes, such as frost, or intentionally terminated through chemi- cal application, crimping, rolling, tillage or cutting. A cover crop managed and terminated according to NRCS Cover Crop Termi- nation Guidelines is not considered a crop for crop insurance purposes. Cover crops can be planted: with no subse- quent crop planted, before a subsequent crop, after prevented planting acreage, after a planted crop, or into a standing crop. Double-Cropping Each year, state commit- tees will review and approve or disapprove county committee recommended changes or additions to spe- cific combinations of crops. Double-cropping is approved when the two spe- cific crops have the capabil- ity to be planted and carried to maturity for the intended use, as reported by the pro- ducer, on the same acreage within a crop year under normal growing conditions. The specific combination of crops recommended by the county committee must be approved by the state committee. The following are ap- proved double crop combi- nations in Pike County: First Crop ........ Double Crop Canola ....................Soybeans Cantaloupe ............Soybeans Sweet Corn .............Broccoli Sweet Corn ...........Soybeans Sweet Corn .............. Pickled Cucumber (Processed) Sweet Corn ..........Pumpkins Sweet Corn ..........Snap Peas Sweet Corn ....... Snap Beans Potatoes Snap Beans (Processed) Potatoes ............. Cucumbers Wheat ..................... Cabbage Wheat ......... Grain Sorghum Wheat ...................Snap Peas Wheat ....................Soybeans Wheat ........................Squash Wheat ...................Pumpkins Wheat ................ Sweet Corn A crop following a cover crop terminated according to termination guidelines is approved double cropping and these combinations do not have to be approved by the state committee. Final Planting Dates All producers are encour- aged to contact their local FSA office for more infor- mation on the final planting date for specific crops. The final planting dates var y by crop, planting period and county so please contact your local FSA office for a list of county-specific plant- ing deadlines. The timely planting of a crop, by the final planting date, may prevent loss of program benefits. UPDATE YOUR RECORDS FSA is cleaning up our producer record database. If you have any unreported changes of address or zip code or an incorrect name or business name on file they need to be reported to our office. Changes in your farm operation, like the addition of a farm by lease or purchase, need to be re- ported to our office as well. Producers participating in FSA and NRCS programs are required to timely re- port changes in their farm- ing operation to the County Committee in writing and update their CCC-902 Farm Operating Plan. If you have any updates or corrections, please call your local FSA office to update your records. FARM RECONSTITUTIONS When changes in farm ownership or operation take place, a farm reconstitution is necessar y. The reconsti- tution — or recon — is the process of combining or dividing farms or tracts of land based on the farming operation. The following are the dif- ferent methods used when doing a farm recon. Estate Method — the division of bases, allotments and quotas for a parent farm among heirs in settling an estate; Designation of Land- owner Method — may be used when (1) part of a farm is sold or ownership is transferred; (2) an entire farm is sold to two or more persons; (3) farm owner- ship is transferred to two or more persons; (4) part of a tract is sold or owner- ship is transferred; (5) a tract is sold to two or more persons; or (6) tract owner- ship is transferred to two or more persons. In order to use this method the land sold must have been owned for at least three years, or a waiver granted, and the buyer and seller must sign a Memorandum of Under- standing; DCP Cropland Method: the division of bases in the same proportion that the DCP cropland for each resulting tract relates to the DCP cropland on the parent tract; Default Method: the di- vision of bases for a parent farm with each tract main- taining the bases attributed to the tract level when the reconstitution is initiated in the system. MALTED GRAINS AND MAPLE SYRUP ELIGIBLE FOR FARM STORAGE FACILITY LOANS Malted small grains and maple syrup are now eligible for Farm Storage Facility Loans (FSFL) through the USDA Farm Ser vice Agency (FSA). FSFLs provide low-inter- est financing to producers to build or upgrade storage facilities and to purchase portable (new or used) structures, equipment and storage and handling trucks. The eligible commodi- ties have been expanded to include malted small grains and maple syrup. Eligible malted small grains include barley, oats, rice, r ye and wheat. Maple sap is used to produce maple syrup. The low-interest funds can be used for: • Bottler or filling systems for maple syrup, exclud- ing containers • Equipment to improve, maintain, or monitor the quality of stored FSFL commodities, such as cleaners, moisture test- ers, heat detectors, along with a proposed storage facility • Handling and drying equipment determined by the County Commit- tee to be needed and es- sential to the proper func- tioning of a storage sys- tem • Electrical equipment, such as pumps, lighting, motors, and wiring, inte- gral to the proper oper- ation of the storage and handling equipment, ex- cluding installing elec- tric service to the elec- trical meter. FSFLs are not available for the actual processing of the small grain into the malted commodity or maple sap into maple syrup. Ad- ditionally, purchased com- modities are not eligible for FSFLs. The following storage and handling equipment is ineligible for FSFLs: Boiling equipment • Feed handling and pro- cessing equipment • Production and feed fa- cilities • Structures of a tempo- rary nature not having a useful life of the term of the loan • Maple sap tubing and pumping systems. 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 exceeding $100,000 require additional security. Producers do not need to demonstrate the lack of commercial credit availabil- ity to apply. The loans are designed to assist a diverse range of farming opera- tions, including small and See FSA on page 3