What's Up at the FSA Office?

by Jeremy Leitz, Allamakee County Executive Director (563) 568-2148

Upcoming Deadlines and Important Dates
• December 25: Office closed for Christmas
• January 1: Office closed for New Years Day
• January 15: Last day to apply for the Market Facilitation Program

Introducing Mary Melcher
Hi everyone! My name is Mary Melcher.  I recently started as a new Program Technician here at the Allamakee County FSA office. I grew up on a dairy farm near Harpers Ferry.  Along with the dairy we have a small beef herd. I graduated from Waukon High School in 2015. I then went on to continue my education at NICC in Calmar.  There I completed degrees in Dairy Science Technology, Agriculture Business, and Agriculture Finance.

I have enjoyed growing up in Allamakee County and I am looking forward to working with area farmers!

USDA Acreage Reporting Deadline for Perennial Forage Changes to July 15
USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) has established a new acreage reporting deadline for perennial forage for 2019 and subsequent years. Previously set in the fall, the new deadline is July 15 for all states, except for Hawaii and Puerto Rico. 

Timely and accurate acreage reports for all crops and land uses, including prevented planting or failed acreage, are the foundation for many FSA program benefits, including disaster programs for livestock owners. Producers must report their acreage to maintain program eligibility.

Producers who have coverage for perennial forage under the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) must report their crop acreage by the earlier of any of the following:

• the established acreage reporting date (July 15)
• 15 calendar days before the onset of harvest or grazing of the specific crop acreage being reported
• the established normal harvest date for the end of the coverage period.

Storage and Handling Trucks Eligible for Farm Storage Facility Loans
Farm Storage Facility Loans (FSFL) provide low-interest financing so producers can build or upgrade facilities to store commodities. Some storage and handling trucks are eligible for the FSFL. These include:

• Cold Storage Trucks - A van or truck designed to carry perishable freight at specific temperatures. Cold storage trucks can be ice-cooled or equipped with any variety of mechanical refrigeration systems.
• Flatbed Trucks - Truck with an open body in the form of a platform with no side walls for easy loading and unloading. These trucks can be categorized into different sizes which range from light, medium, or heavy duty, compact or full-size, or short and expandable beds.
• Grain Trucks - A piece of farm equipment specially made to accommodate grain products and are traditionally truck chassis units with a mounted grain “dump” body where grain commodities are transported from a field to either a grain elevator or a storage bin.
• Storage Trucks with a Chassis Unit - Commonly referred to as a box truck, box van or straight truck, is a truck with a cargo body mounted on the same chassis with the engine and cab.

To be eligible for FSFL, the storage and handling truck must be less than 15 years old and have a maximum of four axles with a gross weight rating of 60,000 pounds or less. Pick-up trucks, semi-trucks, dump trucks, and simple insulated and ventilated vans are ineligible for FSFL.

FSFL for storage and handling trucks must be $100,000 or less. FSFL-financed storage and handling trucks must be used for the purpose for which they were acquired for the entire FSFL term.

Eligible commodities include grains, oilseeds, pulse crops, hay, honey, renewable biomass commodities, fruits and vegetables, floriculture, hops, maple sap, milk, cheese, yogurt, butter, eggs, meat/poultry (unprocessed), rye and aquaculture.