What's Up at the FSA Office?

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

Upcoming Deadlines and Important Dates
• May 15 - August 2: Primary Nesting Season. No Mid-Contract Management Activities on CRP Acres
• May 31: Marketing Assistance Loans for Prior Year Harvested Corn and Soybeans
• August 1: ARC/PLC Sign-up

CRP Mid-Contract Management
We would like to remind CRP producers who have Mid-Contract Management (MCM) scheduled for 2018 that the activity must be completed by May 14, 2018. Upon completion of the MCM activities, you will need to notify the FSA office that MCM has been completed by signing the FSA-848B form and providing acceptable evidence of the practice completion to determine proper cost share payment. Cost share for MCM is 50% Not to Exceed the per acre rate established for each MCM activity.

No MCM can be performed during the CRP nesting or brood rearing season of May 15 - August 1. Participants with maintenance issues that require attention prior to the end of nesting season must contact the county FSA office for permission prior to performing any spot spraying or spot mowing on CRP acres. Failure to contact the county FSA office prior to any maintenance on CRP acres during nesting season may result in payment reductions or possible contract termination. 

Wetland Mitigation Banks
Producers participating in programs administered by the USDA are required to abide by certain conditions on any land owned or farmed that is considered a wetland. To maintain compliance with wetland conservation provisions, producers must agree, by certifying on form AD-1026, they will not plant an agricultural commodity on a converted wetland or convert a wetland to produce an agricultural commodity.

USDA conservation compliance requires any farmer who converts a wetland for commodity production to offset that loss through mitigation to maintain eligibility for USDA benefits.

Wetland mitigation banks allow farmers to remove or alter wetlands in their fields in exchange for purchasing credits in a mitigation bank. The credits correspond to an area of the mitigation bank that at least equals the size of the altered field wetlands. The price of the credits is negotiated between the buyer and seller.

Highly Erodible Land Conservation (HELC)
Due to the topography of Allamakee County, many farms have highly erodible land. These fields must be following conservation plans that are established by the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS). If you are not following your soil saving plan, you may be in violation of the HELC provisions.  Violations could have fines up to $10,000 per farm and prevent you from obtaining all government payments.  We encourage you to be cautious when developing your tillage plans for the upcoming crop year.  If you haven’t reviewed your conservation plan in a while, it’s time to do so.  Stop at the USDA Service Center to review plans on all the land you operate. 

Marketing Loans Reminder
Grain that is under loan, or “sealed” as many producers call it, must be repaid or released for sale prior to moving the bushels out of storage for sale or feed use.  Unauthorized disposition results in possible penalties and administrative actions.  Remember to “call before you haul” and we can discuss your options and forms that you may need to sign.  Phone the FSA office at (563) 568-2148.

Breaking New Ground
Agricultural producers are reminded to consult with FSA and NRCS before breaking out new ground for production purposes as doing so without prior authorization may put a producer’s federal farm program benefits in jeopardy. This is especially true for land that must meet Highly Erodible Land (HEL) and Wetland Conservation (WC) provisions.

Producers with HEL determined soils are required to apply tillage, crop residue and rotational requirements as specified in their conservation plan. 

Producers should notify FSA as a first point of contact prior to conducting land clearing or drainage type projects to ensure the proposed actions meet compliance criteria such as clearing any trees to create new cropland, then these areas will need to be reviewed to ensure such work will not risk your eligibility for benefits.

Landowners and operators complete the form AD-1026 - Highly Erodible Land Conservation (HELC) and Wetland Conservation (WC) Certification to identify the proposed action and allow FSA to determine whether a referral to Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) for further review is necessary.