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Breaking new ground? USDA's Farm Service Agency provides cautionary reminders for Illinois farmers

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[September 25, 2013]  SPRINGFIELD -- Scherrie V. Giamanco, state executive director for the Illinois Farm Service Agency, cautions agricultural producers to consult with FSA and the Natural Resources Conservation Service before breaking out new ground for production, as doing so without prior authorization may put a producer's federal farm program benefits in jeopardy.

Although checking with USDA anytime ground is cleared or otherwise converted is a good business practice, this is especially true for ground that is considered a wetland or highly erodible. Producers participating in federal farm programs and any person or entity considered to be an "affiliated person" of the producer are subject to regulations pertaining to ground having highly erodible or wetland determinations.

"Before heading out with a 'dozer to clear a fence line or hiring a contractor to drain or fill in wet areas in a field, it is extremely important that you have consulted with our staff to ensure these acres are not considered highly erodible or wetland acres," said Giamanco. "I assure you, the hour or so spent working with our staff to make sure your plans won't impact these fragile lands, before you head to the field, will be time well spent."

The Food Security Act of 1985 authorized the conservation provisions for highly erodible land and wetland to reduce soil loss, reduce sedimentation, improve water quality, preserve the nation's wetlands, protect the nation's long-term capacity to produce food and fiber, and remove incentive for people to produce agricultural commodities on highly erodible land or converted wetlands.

Highly erodible land is defined as cropland, hayland or pasture that can erode at excessive rates. These lands contain soils that have an erodibility index of 8 or more. Wetlands have a predominance of wet soil types, are inundated or saturated by surface or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support water-tolerant vegetation, and, under normal circumstances, support a prevalence of such vegetation.

To be in compliance with the highly erodible land and wetland conservation provisions, producers must agree, by certifying on FSA's Form AD-1026, that they:

  • Will not produce an agricultural commodity on highly erodible land without a conservation system.

  • Will not plant an agricultural commodity on a converted wetland.

  • Will not convert a wetland to make possible the production of an agricultural commodity.

Any planned deviation from the agreement having the potential to convert highly erodible land or wetland acreage, or even land that may not yet have highly erodible or wetland determinations, requires that producers update the Form AD-1026. FSA will notify NRCS to provide technical determinations on highly erodible land or wetland on the acreage in question.

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Giamanco warns that producers participating in FSA and NRCS programs who are not in compliance with highly erodible land or wetland conservation compliance provisions are not eligible to receive benefits for most programs administered by both agencies. And, if a producer has received program benefits and is later found to be noncompliant, he or she would be required to refund all payments received and may be assessed liquidated damages.

"We realize that between harvest and planning for the 2014 planting season, producers get busy, but I can't stress enough the importance that all the i's are dotted and t's are crossed before converting land for production. This includes former Conservation Reserve Program ground," Giamanco said. "Bottom line... when in doubt, stop by your local USDA Service Center, and you'll leave with peace of mind, knowing that your eligibility for farm program benefits is not at risk".

___

CCC sugar exchange extended

The Commodity Credit Corp. announced Friday the results of the third action, taken on Sept. 12, to reduce its recently acquired sugar inventory and address the domestic sugar market. CCC also announced an extension of the third offer to exchange the remaining sugar inventory for credits held by refiners with licenses under the Refined Sugar Re-Export Program.

The third sugar exchange reduced CCC's sugar inventory by 51,448 metric tons by exchanging that sugar for 139,882 metric tons of credits under the Refined Sugar Re-Export Program. CCC received an average of 2.72 tons of import access per ton of CCC inventory, and this latest action reduced sugar available to the market by 88,434 metric tons. Additional information on this action is available online:
http://www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/webapp?area=
home&subject=coop&topic=pas-sa
.

In addition, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that the CCC is extending its offer to exchange the remaining 26,003 metric tons of sugar inventory for credits held by refiners with licenses under the Refined Sugar Re-Export Program.

For the Farm Service Agency's invitation to exchange re-export credits, as well as the results of earlier USDA sugar actions, visit the FSA Commodity Operations website at
http://www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/webapp?area=
home&subject=coop&topic=landing
.

[Text from file received from Illinois Farm Service Agency]

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