What's up at the FSA Office?

by Joyce Davidshofer, Allamakee County Executive Director

Reminders
June 15 - August 3: Nomination period for the COC elections.
June 15 - September 30: ARC/PLC sign-up for 2014/2015 program deadline.
July 1 -  September 30: 2015 2016 MPP (Dairy) Program.
July 15: Deadline to certify all crops and CRP acres for FSA purposes.
August 1: Last day to request a reconstitution for 2015.

2015 Crop Certification
Currently the county office is certifying crops. The deadline to certify is July 15. After July 15, it will cost $46 per farm to late file certifications. CRP, ARC/PLC and other programs require crop certification before any payments will be issued in the programs. For more information, call the FSA Office at 563568-2148.

2014/2015 ARC/PLC Program Sign-Up
The ARC/PLC program software is now available to sign up for 2014 and/or 2015 program years. Sign-up period is June 15-September 30.
Around June 15, the FSA issued ARC/PLC notifications of bases, yields and the election chosen for the farm. These notifications were sent to farm operators, owners and other producers of record on the farm.

2016 Margin Protection Program (MPP) for Dairy
July 1, the Margin Protection Program (MPP) sign-up begins. The Allamakee County FSA Office will be accepting applications for the program after July 15 because software is not available at this time.
As a reminder, producers who signed up for the 2015 MPP program year based on MPP regulations are required to sign up for the years 2016-2018.
Each year dairy producers will received a bump in their pounds from the previous year. The coverage election will need to be completed each year also. For example: In 2015, a producer elected $5.00 at 65% for a $100 fee and a premium amount. In 2016 the producer chooses  $4.00 at 90% for $100. This is one example of what dairy producers can do in the coming years. For more information about this program contact the county office. New dairies should also contact the office.

2015 Allamakee County Committee Elections
The nomination period for Allamakee County Committee elections began June 15 and ends August 3. Request nomination forms from the Allamakee County FSA Office or online at http://www.fsa.usda.gov/elections.
The townships involved for the elections are Iowa, Lansing, Center, La Fayette, Paint Creek and Taylor.