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Cover Crop Guidelines
The Farm Service Agency (FSA), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Risk Management Agency (RMA) worked together to develop consistent, simple and a flexible policy for cover crop practices.
Cover crops, such as grasses, legumes and forbs, can be planted: with no subsequent crop planted, before a subsequent crop, after prevented planting acreage, after a planted crop, or into a standing crop.
Termination:
The cover crop termination guidelines provide the timeline for terminating cover crops, are based on zones and apply to non-irrigated cropland. To view the zones and additional guidelines visit nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/landuse/crops/ and click “Cover Crop Termination Guidelines.”
The cover crops may be terminated by natural causes, such as frost, or intentionally terminated through chemical application, crimping, rolling, tillage or cutting. A cover crop managed and terminated according to NRCS Cover Crop Termination Guidelines is not considered a crop for crop insurance purposes.
Reporting:
The intended use of cover only will be used to report cover crops. This includes crops that were terminated by tillage and reported with an intended use code of green manure. An FSA policy change will allow cover crops to be hayed and grazed. Program eligibility for the cover crop that is being hayed or grazed will be determined by each specific program.
If the crop reported as cover only is harvested for any use other than forage or grazing and is not terminated properly, then that crop will no longer be considered a cover crop.
Crops reported with an intended use of cover only will not count toward the total cropland on the farm. In these situations, a subsequent crop will be reported to account for all cropland on the farm.
Communication Is Key in Lending
Farm Service Agency (FSA) is committed to providing our farm loan borrowers the tools necessary to be successful. FSA staff will provide guidance and counsel from the loan application process through the borrower’s graduation to commercial credit. While it is FSA’s commitment to advise borrowers as they identify goals and evaluate progress, it is crucial for borrowers to communicate with their farm loan staff when changes occur. It is the borrower’s responsibility to alert FSA to any of the following:
• Any proposed or significant changes in the farming operation
• Any significant changes to family income or expenses
• The development of problem situations
• Any losses or proposed significant changes in security
If a farm loan borrower can’t make payments to suppliers, other creditors, or FSA on time, contact your farm loan staff immediately to discuss loan servicing options.
For more information on FSA farm loan programs, contact Shelby Richards at 563-382-8777, email shelby.richards@usda.gov or visit fsa.usda.gov.
The Importance of Responding to NASS Surveys
USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) conducts hundreds of surveys every year and prepares reports covering virtually every aspect of U.S. agriculture.
If you receive a survey questionnaire, please respond quickly and online if possible.
The results of the surveys help determine the structure of USDA farm programs, such as soil rental rates for the Conservation Reserve Program and prices and yields used for the Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage programs. This county-level data is critical for USDA farm payment determinations. Survey responses also help associations, businesses and policymakers advocate for their industry and help educate others on the importance of agriculture.
NASS safeguards the privacy of all respondents and publishes only aggregate data, ensuring that no individual operation or producer can be identified.
NASS data is available online at nass.usda.gov/Publications and through the searchable Quick Stats database. Watch a video on how NASS data is used at youtube.com/watch?v=m-4zjnh26io&feature=youtu.be.
Report Banking Changes to FSA
Farm Service Agency (FSA) program payments are issued electronically into your bank account. In order to receive timely payments, you need to notify your FSA servicing office if you close your account or if your bank information is changed for any reason (such as your financial institution merging or being purchased). Payments can be delayed if FSA is not notified of changes to account and bank routing numbers.
For some programs, payments are not made until the following year. For example, payments for crop year 2019 through the Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage program aren’t paid until 2020. If the bank account was closed due to the death of an individual or dissolution of an entity or partnership before the payment was issued, please notify your local FSA office as soon as possible to claim your payment.
Creating a Farmers.gov Account Makes Receiving USDA Assistance Easy and Efficient
Are you interested in working with USDA to start or grow your farm, ranch, or private forest operation, but don’t know where to start?
Whether you’re looking to access capital or disaster assistance through USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) or address natural resource concerns on your land with assistance from USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), a great place to start is farmers.gov.
Farmers.gov is a one-stop shop for information about the assistance available from FSA and NRCS. The site also offers many easy-to-use tools for farmers, ranchers, and private forestland owners, whether you are reaching out for the first time or are a long-term customer with a years-long relationship with USDA.
With a farmers.gov account you can:
• Complete an AD-2047, Customer Data Worksheet, prior to your first meeting with FSA and NRCS.
• View farm loan payments history from FSA.
• View cost share assistance received and anticipated from NRCS conservation programs.
• Request conservation assistance from NRCS as well as view and track your conservation plans, practices, and contracts.
• View, print, and export detailed farm records and farm/tract maps for the current year, which are particularly useful when fulfilling acreage reporting requirements.
• Print FSA-156 EZ, Abbreviated Farm Record and your Producer Farm Data Report for the current year.
• Pay FSA debt using the “Make an FSA Payment” feature
• Apply for a farm loan online, view information on your existing loans, and make USDA direct farm loan payments using the Pay My Loan feature.
Learn how to create a farmers.gov account today!
Farm Safety
Flowing grain in a storage bin or gravity-flow wagon is like quicksand - it can kill quickly. It takes less than five seconds for a person caught in flowing grain to be trapped.
The mechanical operation of grain handling equipment also presents a real danger. Augers, power take offs, and other moving parts can grab people or clothing.
These hazards, along with pinch points and missing shields, are dangerous enough for adults; not to mention children. It is always advisable to keep children at a safe distance from operating farm equipment. Always use extra caution when backing or maneuvering farm machinery. Ensure everyone is visibly clear and accounted for before machinery is engaged.
Farm Service Agency wants all farmers to have a productive crop year and that begins with putting safety first.
The Conservation Plan: A Solid Foundation for NRCS Work
A key part of NRCS’s 90-year history was the establishment of the conservation planning process by Hugh Hammond Bennett. Bennett was the agency’s first chief and is considered the “father of soil conservation.” He believed in considering each farm’s unique conditions when developing a conservation plan.
A conservation plan is a document outlining the strategies and actions that should be taken to protect and manage natural resources on a specific area of land. It serves as a blueprint for achieving conservation goals. To develop a conservation plan, a conservation planner and the customer (farmer, rancher or landowner) collaborate during the conservation planning process.
Bennett believed that agency employees must walk the land with the customer and see their natural resource challenges and opportunities firsthand. Bennett also understood that natural resource concerns could not be treated in isolation; soil, water, air, plants, animals, and humans are all part of an integrated system that is inter-dependent.
