What's Up at the USDA Office?

Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
May 15-August 1: Primary Nesting Season
June 15: COC Election Ballots Mailed to Producers in LAA 3
July 15: Crop Certification
July 23: CRP General Signup
August 6: CRP Continuous Signup

County Committee (COC) Election
It’s that time of year when FSA begins the process of the county committee election.  This year the election will be for LAA -3, which includes Center, Iowa, LaFayette, Lansing, Paint Creek, and Taylor townships. Essentially the NE portion of the county. The nomination period begins June 15 and runs through August 2. You can nominate yourself or someone else by completing the appropriate form at our office or download it online. Once nominations are finalized, producers who reside in LAA-3 will cast ballots which will be mailed to you on November 1. These ballots are due back to the FSA office by December 6. The elected member will take office on January 1. We’ll be getting more information out, posting flyers around town, and folks in these townships will be getting a postcard in June.

USDA Expands and Renews Conservation Reserve Program in Effort to Boost Enrollment and Address Climate Change
USDA will open enrollment in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) with higher payment rates, new incentives, and a more targeted focus on the program’s role in climate change mitigation. Additionally, USDA is announcing investments in partnerships to increase climate-smart agriculture, including $330 million in 85 Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) projects and $25 million for On-Farm Conservation Innovation Trials.

Conservation Reserve Program
USDA’s goal is to enroll up to 4 million new acres in CRP by raising rental payment rates and expanding the number of incentivized environmental practices allowed under the program. CRP is one of the world’s largest voluntary conservation programs with a long track record of preserving topsoil, sequestering carbon, and reducing nitrogen runoff, as well providing healthy habitat for wildlife. CRP is a powerful tool when it comes to climate mitigation, and acres currently enrolled in the program mitigate more than 12 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). If USDA reaches its goal of enrolling an additional 4 million acres into the program, it will mitigate an additional 3 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent and prevent 90 million pounds of nitrogen and 33 million tons of sediment from running into our waterways each year.

New Climate-Smart Practice Incentive
To target the program on climate change mitigation, FSA is introducing a new Climate-Smart Practice Incentive for CRP general and continuous sign-ups that aims to increase carbon sequestration and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Climate-Smart CRP practices include establishment of trees and permanent grasses, development of wildlife habitat and wetland restoration. Climate-Smart Practice Incentive is annual, and the amount is based on benefits of each practice type.

Higher Rental Rates and New Incentives
In 2021, CRP is capped at 25 million acres, and currently 20.8 million acres are enrolled. Furthermore, the cap will gradually increase to 27 million acres by 2023. To help increase producer interest and enrollment, FSA is:
• Adjusting soil rental rates. This enables additional flexibility for rate adjustments, including a possible increase in rates where appropriate.
• Increasing payments for Practice Incentives from 20% to 50%. This incentive for continuous CRP practices is based on the cost of establishment and is in addition to cost share payments.
• Increasing payments for water quality practices. Rates are increasing from 10% to 20% for certain water quality benefiting practices available through the CRP continuous signup, such as grassed waterways, riparian buffers, and filter strips.
• Establishing a CRP Grassland minimum rental rate. This benefits more than 1,300 counties with rates currently below the minimum.
To learn more about updates to CRP, download our “What’s New with CRP” fact sheet.

2021 Crop Certification
The on-going COVID-19 situation has certainly changed the way we operate at the office. We are doing much more through phone, email, and fax. Like last year, we mailed each producer a set of their maps along with instructions on how to complete them, and when to return them by.  Please review the instructions before beginning to mark up your maps.  Review the map to make sure you have a crop indicated for each field.  Include planting dates for corn, beans, and any other seedings. Please indicate shares of the crop as well.  The included instructions provide more detail as what is needed to accurately complete the certification. We’re asking that all maps be returned to us by June 11, providing us ample time to get them loaded and ready for you to review and sign. Please drop them off sooner if you are done planting. We can have two producers in the office at a time, so there is a chance we can work with you directly to complete this, but be prepared to drop off your maps and return at a later date to sign. Email is another option if that is preferrable.

CRP Reminders
The primary nesting season runs from May 15 – August 1. Please contact the FSA office if you need to perform spot maintenance activities on your CRP acres during this time. Cosmetic mowing of your CRP acres is always prohibited, but you can spot treat areas that are threatened by undesirable vegetation throughout the year. A written request must be made before the County Committee grants approval to conduct maintenance during the nesting season. As a reminder, volunteer trees and woody vegetation must be controlled and removed from CRP acres. Failure to control undesirable vegetation on CRP can result in financial penalties.

Keeping Livestock Inventory Records
Livestock inventory records are necessary in the event of a natural disaster, so remember to keep them updated. When disasters strike, the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) can help you if you’ve suffered excessive livestock death losses and grazing or feed losses due to eligible natural disasters. To participate in livestock disaster assistance programs, you’ll be required to provide verifiable documentation of death losses resulting from an eligible adverse weather event and must submit a notice of loss to your local FSA office within 30 calendar days of when the loss of livestock is apparent. For grazing or feed losses, you must submit a notice of loss to your local FSA office within 30 calendar days of when the loss is apparent and should maintain documentation and receipts.

You should record all pertinent information regarding livestock inventory records including:
• Documentation of the number, kind, type, and weight range of livestock
• Beginning inventory supported by birth recordings or purchase receipts.