What's up at the FSA Office?

by Joyce Davidshofer, Allamakee County Executive Director

Meeting
The next Allamakee County Committee meeting will be December 10 at 9 a.m. at the Allamakee County FSA conference room.

Reminders
December 15: Deadline to certify hay/grass acres.
December 25: Closed, Christmas Day.
January 1, 2016: Closed, New Years Day.

October 1 through December 15: Forage (alfalfa), pasture, grass, and fall seed crops certification are required to be certified by December 15 for spring 2016 crop year. Late file fee will apply and no waivers will be granted. The late file fee will be $46 per farm.

New General CRP Signup
The next general CRP signup will be held from December 1, 2015, through February 26, 2016. Land that is not currently enrolled in CRP may be offered for enrollment during CRP signup 49. In addition, CRP participants with contracts expiring on September 30, 2016, may submit offers. Accepted contracts for CRP signup 49 will become effective on October 1, 2016. For more details contact the Allamakee County FSA Office at (563) 568-2148.

Maintaining the Quality of Farm-Stored Loan Grain
Bins are ideally designed to hold a level volume of grain. When bins are overfilled and grain is heaped up, airflow is hindered and the chance of spoilage increases.
Producers who take out marketing assistance loans and use the farm-stored grain as collateral should remember that they are responsible for maintaining the quality of the grain through the term of the loan.

CRP Expiring 9/30/2016 Letters
The National FSA Office mailed letters to CRP participants October 27, 2015. If the expiring contract is a continuous CRP contract, you may apply by April 1, 2016 to have a start date of 10/1/2016. For the General CRP contracts expiring on 10/1/2016, can accept offers starting with the December 1, 2015 CRP Signup.
If you have questions in regard to your CRP expiring letter, please stop in the office or contact us at (563) 568-2148.

Filing a Notice of Loss
The CCC-576, Notice of Loss, is used to report failed acreage and prevented planting and may be completed by any producer with an interest in the crop. Timely filing a Notice of Loss is required for all crops including grasses. For losses on crops covered by the Non-Insured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP), you must file a CCC-576, Notice of Loss, in the FSA County Office within 15 days of the occurrence of the disaster or when losses become apparent.
Producers of hand-harvested crops must notify FSA of damage or loss through the administrative County Office within 72 hours of the date of damage or loss first becomes apparent. This notification can be provided by filing a CCC-576, email, fax or phone. Producers who notify the County Office by any method other than by filing the CCC-576 are still required to file a CCC-576, Notice of Loss, within the required 15 calendar days.
If filing for prevented planting, an acreage report and CCC-576 must be filed within 15 calendar days of the final planting date for the crop.

Farmers to Receive SERVICES Documentation
Local Offices Issue Receipts for Services Provided
Farm Service Agency (FSA) reminds agricultural producers that FSA provides a receipt to customers who request or receive assistance or information on FSA programs.
As part of FSA’s mission to provide enhanced customer service, producers who visit FSA will receive documentation of services requested and provided. From December through June, FSA issued more than 327,000 electronic receipts.
The 2014 Farm Bill requires a receipt to be issued for any agricultural program assistance requested from FSA, the National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Rural Development (RD). Receipts include the date, summary of the visit and any agricultural information, program and/or loan assistance provided to an individual or entity.
In some cases, a form or document – such as a completed and signed program enrollment form –serve as the customer receipt instead of a printed or electronic receipt. A service is any information, program or loan assistance provided whether through a visit, email, fax or letter.