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 - Please Considering Joining the Allamakee COC!
It’s that time of year when Farm Service Agency (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 northeast 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 November 1. These ballots are due back to the FSA office by December 6. The elected member will take office January 1. We’ll be getting more information out, posting flyers around town, and folks in these townships received a postcard recently.
July 2021 FSFL Interest Rates
New rates were issued for the month of July and are as follows:
• 0.250% for three years
• 0.375% for five years
• 1.250% for seven years
• 1.500% for 10 years
• 1.750% for 12 years
2021 Crop Certification
The ongoing 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 either drop off your maps and return at a later date to sign. Email is another option if that is preferable.
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.
Power of Attorney
For those who find it difficult to visit the county office personally because of work schedules, distance, health, etc., FSA has a power of attorney form available that enables you to designate another person to conduct your business at the office. If you are interested, please contact our office or any Farm Service Agency office near you for more information. Power of Attorney provisions do not apply to farm loan programs.
Changing Bank Accounts
All FSA payments should be electronically transferred into your bank account. In order to make timely payments, you need to notify the office if you close your account or if your bank is purchased by another financial institution. Payments can be delayed if we are not aware of changes to account and routing numbers.
