What's Up at the FSA Office?
by Jeremy Leitz, Allamakee County Executive Director (563) 568-2148
Upcoming Deadlines and Important Dates
• September 28: ARCPLC Signup Deadline; MPP-Dairy Premiums Due
Market Facilitation Program
USDA announced the trade mitigation program (Market Facilitation Program, MFP) the other week. This program will aid farmers who were impacted from trade retaliation. The Farm Service Agency will administer this program and provide payments to corn, dairy, hog, soybean, wheat, cotton, and sorghum producers.
The signup period will run through January 15, 2019, and you are encouraged to apply after harvest is 100% complete. We recommend you bring production evidence with you when you apply. Payments will be issued on 50% of the production multiplied by the MFP rate for the specific commodity. A second payment period, if warranted, will be determined by the USDA.
Payment rates:
• Corn: $0.01 a bushel
• Soybeans: $1.65 a bushel
• Dairy: $0.12 cwt
• Hogs: $8 a head as of August 1, 2018
Visit www.farmers.gov for more information on the Market Facilitation Program.
Managed Haying Requests
For those who have stopped in to request managed haying on your CRP ground, make sure the bales are off as soon as possible to avoid killing of the seeding underneath, but no later than September 30. Any seeding destroyed due to the bales needs to be reseeded.
Highly Erodible Land Conservation (HELC)
Many farms in Allamakee County have highly erodible land. These fields must be following conservation plans that are established by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Some plans were developed in the 1980’s. If you are not following your soil saving plan, you may be in violation of the HELC provisions. Violations can result in significant fines and prevent you from receiving all government payments. We encourage you to be cautious when developing your tillage plans for crop year 2017. If you haven’t reviewed your conservation plan in a while, it time to do so. Stop at the USDA Service Center to review plans on all the land you operate.
USDA Farm Service Agency Offers Text Alerts to Allamakee County Producers
Allamakee County USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) announced that farmers and ranchers in Iowa now can receive notifications from their county office through text messages on their cell phone.
Whether producers are in the field, on a tractor or even on horseback, this service enables FSA customers and stakeholders to receive notifications while on the go. Producers will receive text messages regarding important program deadlines, reporting requirements, outreach events and updates.
Producers can text IAAllamakee to FSANOW (372-669) to subscribe to text message alerts from Allamakee County. Standard text messaging rates apply. Contact your wireless carrier for details associated with your particular data plan. Participants may unsubscribe at any time.
Contact your local FSA office at (563) 568-2148 if you have questions regarding FSA’s email news service or the new text message option.
