What's Up at the FSA Office?
by Jeremy Leitz, Allamakee County Executive Director (563) 568-2148
Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
December 2: County Committee Election Ballots Due
December 6: Market Facilitation Program
December 11: ARC/PLC Decision Meeting
December 13: Dairy Margin Coverage Program for 2020
Upcoming Public Meeting for the 2019/2020 Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage Programs
The Allamakee and Winneshiek FSA offices are partnering with Iowa State Extension to hold a Farm Bill Decision meeting on December 11. The meeting will take place at the Danan Lansing Building, Winneshiek County Fairgrounds, and begins at 1 p.m. Topics will include program rules and regulations, the ARC or PLC decision, farm stress management and related resources. There is no registration fee to attend, but pre-registration is strongly encouraged to allow planning for materials and seating. Pre-register by calling your local ISU County Extension office hosting the meeting. Dates and nearby locations are listed below. Allamakee County FSA also plans to hold one or two other meetings (with just FSA) around the county including in Waukon and Lansing-area. Those dates have not been set yet. We’d encourage you to attend at least one of the meetings before signing up for the program.
Signup for the 2019 crop year closes March 15, 2020 while signup for the 2020 crop year closes June 30, 2020. Producers can enroll for both 2019 and 2020 during the same visit to an FSA county office.
Winneshiek County & Allamakee County
563-382-2949
Wednesday, December 11, 1 p.m., Danan Lansing Building, Winneshiek County Fairgrounds, 900 E. Main St., Decorah
Dairy Margin Coverage Program (DMC)
Sign up for 2020 coverage runs from Oct. 7 – Dec. 13, 2019. Every operation that will participate in 2020 needs to stop in and sign a new application that certifies you are still marketing milk, including those producers who locked in for 5 years (even though you can’t change your coverage levels). Every participating operation will have to pay the $100 Admin Fee (unless waived) at the time of application and pay the 2020 premium by September 1, 2020. If you did not lock in you can make the same elections, new elections, or choose not to participate in 2020. If you decide not to participate in 2020, you can still participate in later years.
We’re Moving!
Later this month, both NRCS and FSA are moving to a new location! Many of you may have seen our new building being built across from Fareway. The new address is 770 11th Ave SW, Waukon, IA. Our anticipated move date is November 25th. We ask for your patience as we go through the move process, get all the files boxed up, moved over, and unpacked. We will plan an open house once we’re all settled in.
Market Facilitation Program (MFP)
There are still a few producers who need to sign up for the 2019 Market Facilitation Program. The deadline to do so is December 6, 2019. For non-specialty crops such as corn, soybeans and alfalfa, payments are based on a single-county payment rate multiplied by a farm’s total plantings of MFP-eligible crops in aggregate in 2019. Those per-acre payments are not dependent on which of those crops are planted in 2019. The Allamakee County payment rate is $40 per planted acre.
The first payment will be comprised of 50% of your total calculated payment and will be issued shortly after the application is signed and approved. The second and third payments will go in November and January if conditions warrant.
For more information and payment rates, visit https://www.farmers.gov/manage/mfp.
County Committee Election
Producers in Waterloo, Union City, Hanover, French Creek, Union Prairie, and Makee townships should have received their county committee voting ballots last week. The final day to return completed ballots to the FSA office is December 2. 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.
