What's Up at the USDA Office?
Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
June 6: Deadline to submit a CRP offer
June 19: Office closed in observance of Juneteenth
July 15: Deadline for Acreage Reporting
August 15: Deadline to enroll in Emergency Commodity Assistance Program (ECAP)
2025 Crop Reporting
2025 Spring Acreage Crop Reporting is underway in our office. Filing an accurate acreage report (FSA-578) for all crops and land uses, including failed acreage and prevented planting acreage, is a requirement of participation in Farm Service Agency Programs. Once you are finished planting, please contact or stop in our office to complete your FSA-578 Report of Commodities. The deadline to file is July 15, 2025.
In most cases, all cropland on the farm must be reported for program compliance. Also needed for the acreage report are planting dates, type and variety of crops and accurate acreages. It is the producer’s responsibility to accurately report acres, and producer’s share (risk) in individual crops.
Discrepancies found later may affect eligibility for all FSA administered programs. Acreage reports may be filed once crops are planted.
Prevent Plant and Failed Acres: Producers should report prevented planting and failed acres in order to establish or retain FSA program eligibility for select programs. Prevented Planting reports should be filed on form CCC-576, Notice of Loss, no later than 15 calendar days after the final planting date.
Reporting Cover Crops: If a cover crop is harvested for any use other than forage or grazing and is not terminated according to policy guidelines, then that crop will no longer be considered a cover crop and the acreage report must be revised to reflect the actual crop.
Permitted Revision: New operators or owners who pick up a farm after the acreage reporting deadline has passed and the crop has already been reported on the farm, have 30 calendar days from the date when the new operator or owner acquired the lease on land, control of the land or ownership and new producer crop share interest in the previously reported crop acreage. Under this policy, appropriate documentation must be provided to the County Committee’s satisfaction to determine that a legitimate operator or ownership and producer crop share interest change occurred to permit the revision.
Reporting Organic Crops: When certifying organic acres, the buffer zone acreage must be included in the organic acreage. The current organic plan, certificate, and documentation from certification agent must be provided to the FSA office.
Late Filed Crop Reports & Revisions to Crop Reports: FSA-578 Crop reports filed or revised after July 15, 2025, will be charged a measurement service fee of $46 per farm. FSA is required to conduct a site visit on any late filed or revised crop reports. Please review crop reports prior to this date to ensure that crops, planting dates, intended uses, acres and shares are correct.
CRP Signup is Open! Deadline - June 6
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on May 12th several Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) enrollment opportunities for agricultural producers and landowners. USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is accepting offers for both the General and Continuous CRP through June 6, 2025.
New offers and re-enrollments are being accepted!
CRP, USDA’s flagship conservation program, celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. For four decades, CRP has provided financial and technical support to agricultural producers and landowners who place unproductive or marginal cropland under contract for 10-15 years and who agree to voluntarily convert the land to beneficial vegetative cover to improve water quality, prevent soil erosion and support wildlife habitat. The American Relief Act, 2025, extended provisions for CRP through Sept. 30, 2025.
“With 1.8 million acres available for all CRP enrollment this fiscal year, we are very aware that we are bumping up against the statutory 27-million-acre statutory cap,” said FSA Administrator Bill Beam. “Now more than ever, it’s important that the acres offered by landowners and those approved by USDA address our most critical natural resource concerns. With the limited number of acres that we have available, we’re not necessarily looking for the most acres offered but instead prioritizing mindful conservation efforts to ensure we maximize the return on our investment from both a conservation and economic perspective.” Act now before the June 6, 2025, deadline
Save Time: Make an Appointment with FSA
Producers are encouraged to call their local FSA office to schedule an appointment to ensure maximum use of their time and to make sure FSA staff is available to tend to their important business needs. Please call your local FSA office ahead to set an appointment and to discuss any records or documentation that might be needed during your appointment.
USDA Offers Options for Signing and Sharing Documents Online
Farmers and ranchers working with USDA’s Farm Service Agency or Natural Resources Conservation Service can now sign and share documents online in just a few clicks. By using Box or OneSpan, producers can digitally complete business transactions without leaving their homes or agricultural operations. Both services are free, secure, and available for multiple FSA and NRCS programs.
Box is a secure, cloud-based site where FSA or NRCS documents can be managed and shared. Producers who choose to use Box can create a username and password to access their secure Box account, where documents can be downloaded, printed, manually signed, scanned, uploaded, and shared digitally with Service Center staff. This service is available to any FSA or NRCS customer with access to a mobile device or computer with printer connectivity.
OneSpan is a secure eSignature solution for FSA and NRCS customers. Like Box, no software downloads or eAuthentication is required for OneSpan. Instead, producers interested in eSignature through OneSpan can confirm their identity through two-factor authentication using a verification code sent to their mobile device or a personalized question and answer. Once identity is confirmed, documents can be reviewed and e-signed through OneSpan via the producer’s personal email address. Signed documents immediately become available to the appropriate Service Center staff.
Box and OneSpan are both optional services for customers interested in improved efficiency in signing and sharing documents with USDA, and they do not replace existing systems using eAuthentication for digital signature. Instead, these tools provide additional digital options for producers to use when conducting business with FSA or NRCS.
USDA Service Center staff are available to help producers get started with Box and OneSpan through a few simple steps. Please visit farmers.gov/service-locator to find your local office and let Service Center staff know you’re interested in signing and sharing documents through these new features. In most cases, one quick phone call will be all that is needed to initiate the process.
Visit farmers.gov/mydocs to learn more about Box and OneSpan, steps for getting started, and additional resources for conducting business with USDA online.
Payment Limitation
Program payments may be limited by direct attribution to individuals or entities. A legal entity is defined as an entity created under Federal or State law that owns land or an agricultural commodity, product or livestock.
Through direct attribution, payment limitation is based on the total payments received by a person or legal entity, both directly and indirectly.
Payments and benefits under certain FSA programs are subject to some or all of the following:
• payment limitation by direct attribution (including common attribution)
• payment limitation amounts for the applicable programs
• substantive change requirements when a farming operation adds persons, resulting in an increase in persons to which payment limitation applies
• actively engaged in farming requirements
• cash-rent tenant rule
• foreign person rule
• average AGI limitations
• programs subject to AGI limitation
No program benefits subject to payment eligibility and limitation will be provided until all required forms for the specific situation are provided and necessary payment eligibility and payment limitation determinations are made.
Payment eligibility and payment limitation determinations may be initiated by the County Committee or requested by the producer.
Statutory and Regulatory rules require persons and legal entities provide the names and Tax Identification Numbers (TINs) for all persons and legal entities with an ownership interest in the farming operation to be eligible for payment.
Payment eligibility and payment limitation forms submitted by persons and legal entities are subject to spot check through FSA’s end-of-year review process.
Persons or legal entities selected for end-of-year review must provide the County Committee with operating loan documents, income and expense ledgers, canceled checks for all expenditures, lease and purchase agreements, sales contracts, property tax statements, equipment listings, lease agreements, purchase contracts, documentation of who provided actual labor and management, employee time sheets or books, crop sales documents, warehouse ledgers, gin ledgers, corporate or entity papers, etc.
A finding that a person or legal entity is not actively engaged in farming results in the person or legal entity being ineligible for any payment or benefit subject to the actively engaged in farming rules.
Noncompliance with AGI provisions, either by exceeding the applicable limitation or failure to submit a certification and consent for disclosure statement, will result in payment ineligibility for all program benefits subject to AGI provisions. Program payments are reduced in an amount that is commensurate with the direct and indirect interest held by an ineligible person or legal entity in any legal entity, general partnership, or joint operation that receives benefits subject to the average AGI limitations.
If any changes occur that could affect an actively engaged in farming, cash-rent tenant, foreign person, or average Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) determination, producers must timely notify the County FSA Office by filing revised farm operating plans and/or supporting documentation, as applicable.
Failure to timely notify the County Office may adversely affect payment eligibility.
