You are here
Home ›What's Up at the USDA Office?
Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
January 31: Deadline to request 2024 MALs and LDPs for all eligible wool, mohair and unshorn pelts
February 17: Office closed in observance of Presidents’ Day
March 31: 2025 DMC Signup deadline
April 15: 2025 ARC/PLC Signup deadline
USDA Announces 2025 Enrollment Periods for Crop and Dairy Safety-net Programs
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the 2025 enrollment periods for key safety-net programs - Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) as well as Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC). Agricultural producers can submit applications to USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) for ARC and PLC for the 2025 crop year from January 21 to April 15 and for DMC for the 2025 coverage year from January 29 to March 31. ARC and PLC provide financial protections to farmers from substantial drops in crop prices or revenues and are vital economic safety nets for most American farms. Meanwhile, DMC provides producers with price support to help offset milk and feed price differences. The American Relief Act, 2025 extended many Farm Bill-authorized programs for another year, including ARC and PLC as well as DMC.
ARC and PLC
Producers can elect coverage and enroll in ARC-County (ARC-CO) or Price Loss Coverage (PLC), which provide crop-by-crop protection, or ARC-Individual (ARC-IC), which protects the entire farm. Although election changes for 2025 are optional, producers must enroll through a signed contract each year. Also, if a producer has a multi-year contract on the farm it will continue for 2025 unless an election change is made. If producers do not submit their election revision by the April 15 deadline, their election remains the same as their 2024 election for commodities on the farm from the prior year. Farm owners cannot enroll in either program unless they have a share interest in the cropland. Covered commodities include barley, canola, large and small chickpeas, corn, crambe, flaxseed, grain sorghum, lentils, mustard seed, oats, peanuts, dry peas, rapeseed, long grain rice, medium grain rice, safflower seed, seed cotton, sesame, soybeans, sunflower seed and wheat. USDA also reminds producers that ARC and PLC elections and enrollments can impact eligibility for some crop insurance products including Supplemental Coverage Option, Enhanced Coverage Option and, for cotton producers, the Stacked Income Protection Plan (commonly referred to as STAX). For more information on ARC and PLC, producers can visit the ARC and PLC webpage or contact their local USDA Service Center.
DMC
Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) is a voluntary risk management program that offers protection to dairy producers when the difference between the all-milk price and the average feed price (the margin) falls below a certain dollar amount selected by the producer. DMC offers different levels of coverage, even an option that is free to producers, minus a $100 administrative fee. The administrative fee is waived for dairy producers who are considered limited resource, beginning, socially disadvantaged or a military veteran. DMC payments are calculated using updated feed and premium hay costs, making the program more reflective of actual dairy producer expenses. These updated feed calculations use 100% premium alfalfa hay. For more information on DMC, visit the DMC webpage.
Update Your Records
Farm Service Agency (FSA) is cleaning up our producer record database and needs your help. Please report any changes of address, zip code, phone number, email address or an incorrect name or business name on file to our office. You should also report changes in your farm operation, like the addition of a farm by lease or purchase. You should also report any changes to your operation in which you reorganize to form a Trust, LLC or other legal entity. FSA and NRCS program participants are required to promptly report changes in their farming operation to the County Committee in writing and to update their Farm Operating Plan on form CCC-902. To update your records, contact your Allamakee County USDA Service Center at 563-568-2148.
USDA and FarmRaise Launch Additional Online Disaster Assistance Decision Tool for Livestock, Honey Bee and Farm-Raised Fish Producers
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), in partnership with FarmRaise, has launched a new, online Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees and Farm-raised Fish Program (ELAP) Decision Tool. The USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) tool is designed to assist agricultural producers who have been impacted by natural disasters to access available program support. This ELAP Decision Tool, a component of a broader disaster assistance program educational module, further expands the library of online FSA disaster and farm loan program reference resources and decision aids currently available to agricultural producers on the FarmRaise FSA educational hub. The Decision Tool is a resource only and is not an application for benefits or a determination of eligibility. ELAP is designed to address losses not covered by other FSA disaster assistance programs. The program provides recovery assistance to eligible producers of livestock, honey bee, and farm-raised fish losses due to an eligible adverse weather or loss condition, including drought, blizzards, disease, water shortages and wildfires. ELAP covers grazing and feed losses, transportation of water and feed to livestock and hauling livestock to grazing acres due to an eligible loss condition. ELAP also covers certain mortality losses, due to an eligible condition, for livestock including honey bees and farm-raised fish as well as honey bee hive losses.
New FarmRaise Tools and Resources
FarmRaise, in partnership with FSA, recently launched their online, educational hub - the FarmRaise | FSA Educational Hub - comprised of videos, tools and interactive resources that enable USDA cooperators and agricultural producers to learn about and access major FSA programs. A new addition to the hub, the ELAP Decision Tool helps eligible producers impacted by qualifying natural disasters and other eligible causes of loss better understand program eligibility and application requirements, learn about record-keeping and supporting loss documentation requirements and track the steps needed before applying for program benefits. The document generated by the ELAP Decision Tool can be used to support the ELAP application process, but it is not a program application. Producers will need to complete and submit the ELAP Application to their local FSA county office. Upon request, applicants may be asked to provide additional supporting documentation per the program requirements. Through use of the ELAP Decision Tool, producers can segment by loss type (honey bee, farm-raised fish and livestock). This enables easier navigation, as guided by the tool, to assistance available to meet specific disaster recovery needs. After entering the type of loss, identifying the loss condition and entering their inventory and loss information, producers are guided through a worksheet that helps identify required loss documentation - documentation (i.e., pictures, receipts, truck logs, etc.) that can be uploaded through the ELAP tool and sent directly to the producer’s local FSA county office, or producers can provide a copy of the tool-generated worksheet summary document when they visit their local FSA county office to complete and submit the required ELAP application.
Additional FarmRaise Resources
The previously announced Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) Decision Tool, also available through the FarmRaise | FSA Educational Hub, assists livestock producers who suffered losses from eligible adverse weather events and other causes of loss as well as cooperators who are helping disaster-impacted livestock producers navigate available federal disaster assistance programs. The LIP Decision Tool gives producers guidance on what is needed to gather and submit required loss documentation, reducing the amount of time needed to complete applications and enabling FSA county office staff to deliver much-needed assistance faster. Using the LIP Decision Tool is not an application for benefits or a determination of eligibility. In addition to the new ELAP Decision Tool and the LIP Decision Tool, the FarmRaise | FSA Educational Hub offers several, easily navigated farm loan programs how-to videos designed to introduce producers to FSA’s many farm loan programs options and guide them through the application process. More FSA program resources and tools will continue to be added to the FarmRaise | FSA Educational Hub. Cooperators and agricultural producers are encouraged to visit the FarmRaise | FSA Educational Hub often to access all available educational resources.
Opportunities for Financially Distressed Farm Loan Borrowers Through USDA’s Farm Loan Programs
USDA recently announced the most significant changes to USDA’s farm loan programs since 2007. These updates from the Farm Service Agency (FSA) are set to enhance financial opportunities for farmers and ranchers, ensuring their long-term viability. This includes the establishment of a new low-interest installment set-aside program for financially distressed borrowers. The Distressed Borrower Set-Aside Program (DBSA) provides USDA direct loan borrowers the opportunity to set-aside one loan payment to the end of the loan term if they are unable to make their scheduled installment. DBSA results in the borrower accruing significantly reduced interest and allows them to become current on their loans and continue farming. When a borrower indicates they are in financial distress or when they become 90 days past due on an FSA direct loan, they will be notified of the availability of the Distressed Borrower Set-Aside Program (DBSA), or they can request DBSA assistance at any time at their local FSA office. For more information on eligibility and how to apply, check out the Distressed Borrower Set-Aside Program fact sheet.