What's up at the FSA Office?

by Allamakee County Executive Director Joyce Davidshofer

Reminders
April 15, 2014 – January 30, 2015 sign-up for the LIP/LFP/ELAP/TAP programs.
June 9, 2014 – September 30, 2014 – CRP Continuous CRP Sign-up 46.
November 1, 2014 – December 30, 2015 – Forage, pasture, grasses certification due for spring 2015 year. Late file fee will apply no waivers.

Margin Protection Program for Dairy Producers
February 7, 2014 the 2014 Farm Bill was signed into law. The 2014 Farm Bill authorizes MPP-Dairy, a new dairy program, to replace the MILC program no later than September 1, 2014. The MPP-Dairy program is a voluntary program that provides dairy operations with risk management coverage that will pay producers when the difference (the margin) between the national price of milk and the average cost of feed falls below a certain level selected by the producers in a dairy operation.
The MPP-Dairy program offers dairy producers the following:
• catastrophic coverage, at no cost to the producer, other than an annual $100 administrative fee
• greater coverage at various levels for a premium in addition to the $100 administrative fee.
All dairy operations in the U.S. not participating in the Livestock Gross Margin program administered by the Risk Management Agency, except as allowed by Notice LD-637, are eligible to participate in the MPP-Dairy program. A dairy operation is any one or more dairy producers that produce and market milk as a single dairy operation in which each dairy producer does all the following:
• shares in the risk of producing milk
• makes contributions (including land, labor, management, equipment, or capital) to the dairy operation of the individual or entity, which are at least commensurate with the individual or entity’s share of the proceeds of the operation.
For purposes of registering in the MPP-Dairy program, if a dairy:
• operation is operated by more than one dairy producer, all of the dairy producers of the participating dairy operation shall be treated as a single dairy operation
• producer operates two or more dairy operations, each dairy operation, if eligible, shall separately register to participate in the program.
To participate in the MPP-Dairy program, an eligible dairy operation must:
• have a production history determined for the dairy operation
• register to participate during a sign-up announced by FSA
• pay a $100 administrative fee annually for the duration of the MPP-Dairy program
• select a coverage level ranging from $4.00 to $8.00 per cwt, in $0.50 increments
• select a coverage percentage of the dairy operation’s production history ranging from 25 percent to 90 percent, in 5 percent increments.
Note: A dairy operation selection of a $4.00 coverage level is considered catastrophic level coverage at a 90 percent coverage percentage for only the administrative fee. However, a dairy operation selecting a coverage level above $4.00 must also pay a premium, in addition to the administrative fee, for the higher coverage on their selected percentage of dairy operation’s production history.
Clearance of MPP-Dairy program regulations is currently underway. FSA will announce full program details upon publication of the MPP-Dairy final rule in the Federal Register (FR). When published, regulations will be provided at 7 CFR Part 1430.
NOTE: Producers can collect the 2011, 2012 and 2013 production history for these years now while we wait for the clearance of the regulations. (The MPP-Dairy program will be using one of the highest production history records of 2011, 2012 or 2013 for calculating payments.)

Repealing Standard Payment Reduction for Grazing by Livestock for Beginning Farmer or Rancher
Section 2004 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 reduced the standard payment reduction for beginning farmers or ranchers for conducting grazing. Prescribed grazing for the control of invasive species and routine grazing by livestock of a beginning farmer or rancher is authorized without any reduction in the rental rate if the grazing is:
• consistent with the conservation of soil, water quality, and wildlife habitat
• subject to appropriate restrictions during the nesting season.
Effective February 7, 2014 this provides policy that the standard payment reduction for beginning farmers or ranchers conducting prescribed or routine grazing shall not be assessed. Managed grazing will still have the 25% payment reduction.
If CRP participants need to know if they have a prescribed or routine grazing plan for their CRP contract, contact the Allamakee County FSA office at 563-568-2148.

Continuous CRP Sign-Up
Under continuous sign-up authority, environmentally sensitive land devoted to certain conservation practices can be enrolled in CRP at any time. Offers are automatically accepted provided the land and producer meet certain eligibility requirements. Unlike CRP enrollments under general sign-up authority, offers for continuous sign-up are not subject to competitive bidding.
The effective date of the CRP contract is the first day of the month following the month of approval. In certain circumstances, producers may defer the effective date for up to six months.
If the acreage is currently under CRP contract and is within one year of the scheduled expiration date, the effective date is October 1 following the expiration date.
 To offer land for continuous sign-up, producers should contact the Allamakee County FSA Office.
Land must be cropland that is planted or considered planted to an agricultural commodity four of the previous six crop years from 2008 to 2013, and is physically and legally capable of being planted (no planting restrictions due to an easement or other legally binding instrument) in a normal manner to an agricultural commodity.
The land must be eligible and suitable for any of these conservation practices:
• Riparian buffers;
• Wildlife habitat buffers;
• Wetland buffers;
• Filter strips;
• Wetland restoration;
• Grass waterways;
• Shelterbelts;
• Living snow fences;
• Contour grass strips;
• Constructed wetlands;
• Restoration of aquaculture wetlands;
• Wildlife habitat restoration within approved State Areas for Wildlife Enhancement (SAFE) projects;
• Salt tolerant vegetation or;
• Shallow water areas for wildlife.
Land within an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-designated public wellhead area also may be eligible for enrollment on a continuous basis.
For more information, contact the Allamakee County FSA Office at 563-568-2148.