What's Up at the USDA Office?
Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
October 30: WHIP+ Signup; 2020 Organic Certification Cost Share Program Signup
Dec. 11: CFAP 2 Signup
FSA is Hiring!
The Allamakee County FSA Office in Waukon is accepting applications to fill two permanent Program Technician positions. The individuals selected will be responsible for carrying out general office activities and technical functions pertaining to FSA administered programs. Applicants should possess excellent human relations skills as well as strong clerical and computer skills. A general knowledge of agricultural practices would also be beneficial.
The full vacancy announcement with mandatory application requirements can be obtained online at www.usajobs.gov and accessing vacancy announcement number FSACO-10929627-21-IA-TS. There are multiple offices on this announcement so applicants will need to select locations they are interested in.
The opening date was October 6, 2020 and will close on October 20, 2020.
Questions regarding this position can be directed to Jeremy Leitz, County Executive Director, at (563) 568-2148 or jeremy.leitz@usda.gov.
Coronavirus Food Assistance Program 2 (CFAP 2)
USDA announced up to an additional $14 billion for agricultural producers who continue to face market disruptions and associated costs because of COVID-19. Signup for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP 2) began September 21 and runs through December 11, 2020.
CFAP 2 payments will be made for three categories of commodities – Price Trigger Commodities (corn soybeans, etc.), Flat-rate Crops (alfalfa, oats, etc.) and Sales Commodities (beef cattle, sheep, pigs, excludes breeding stock).
Additional information and application forms can be found at farmers.gov/cfap. Documentation to support the producer’s application and certification may be requested. All other eligibility forms, such as those related to adjusted gross income and payment information, can be downloaded from farmers.gov/cfap/apply. For existing FSA customers, including those who participated in CFAP 1, many documents are likely already on file. Producers should check with FSA county office to see if any of the forms need to be updated.
CRP Mid-Contract Management
Some CRP contract holders will receive a packet of information detailing the activities that need to be completed in FY21. You can begin those activities as early as October 1, 2020. However, all activities need to be completed by May 14, 2021 unless otherwise indicated on your forms. Now is a great time to line up contractors, if needed. Their schedules fill up quickly. Please stop in or call if you have any questions.
October Payments
October is here which means we have begun issuing CRP payments along with ARCPLC payments and will continue to do so as they generate over the next couple weeks. CRP payments are issued in a certain order with older contracts going first, working up to the most recent. These usually take a week or two to get all issued, but the goal is to get them all out by mid-October. ARCPLC has generated some payments as well for corn. A bean payment is not expected in the county. Remember that this program pays on your base acres for the previous year. So payments this year are for the 2019 crop year. As these payments show up, we will push them out as well.
