What's up at the FSA Office?
by Jeremy Leitz, Allamakee County Executive Director (563) 568-2148
Upcoming Deadlines and Important Dates
• November 10: Office closed in recognition of Veteran’s Day
• December 15: Report acreages intended to be used for forage and pasture in 2018
• December 15: Sign up for, or opt out of, the 2018 Margin Protection Program
County Committee Election
During the week of November 6 producers in Ludlow, Jefferson, Post, Franklin, Linton, and Fairview Townships will receive county committee voting ballots. The last day to return completed ballots to the FSA office is December 4. If you’re an eligible producer in one of these townships, be on the lookout for your ballot. Committee members are a critical component of the day-to-day operations of FSA. They work to make FSA agricultural programs serve the needs of local producers.
Fall Certification
The deadline to report acres of forage and pasture for 2018 is December 15, 2017. Late-file fees will be assessed for each farm not meeting the December 15 deadline. Make sure to get into the FSA office and certify any hay and pasture ground.
Marketing Assistance Loans
As harvest begins to wrap up on the 2017 crop, the FSA office would like to remind producers that marketing assistance loans are available through our office. The 2017 loan rates are $1.87 for corn, and $4.99 for beans. If you do take out a marketing assistance loan with us, we will need a copy of your driver’s license as well as your spouses. We can make those copies when you are in the office. Make sure to bring both with you.
Highly Erodible Land
Many farms in Allamakee County have highly erodible land. These fields must follow their conservation plan established the Natural Resource Conservation Service.Some of these plans date back to the 1980’s. If you are not following your plan, you may be in violation of the highly erodible provisions. These violations can be severe and prevent you from receiving all government farm payments. If you haven’t reviewed your plan in a while, take a few minutes to do so. And if you have any questions, stop in and visit with NRCS.
USDA Farm Service Agency Offers Text Alerts to Allamakee County Producers
Allamakee County USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) announced that farmers and ranchers in Iowa now can receive notifications from their county office through text messages on their cell phone.
Producers can text IAAllamakee to FSANOW (372-669) to subscribe to text message alerts from Allamakee County. Standard text messaging rates apply. Contact your wireless carrier for details associated with your particular data plan. Participants may unsubscribe at any time.
