Farm Service Agency June News Bulletin

[June 10, 2015]  Crop & CRP Acreage Reporting Reminder - Avoid the wait and visit the office as soon as planting is finished to complete your 2015 crop acreage certification!

The final day to certify spring seeded crops and Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acreage is July 15, 2015. Please remember to have dates, shares and crops ready to report.

Producers who file accurate and timely reports for all crops and land uses, including failed and prevented acreage, can prevent the potential loss of FSA program benefits. Crop certification is a requirement to maintain program benefits for several programs including CRP, ARC, PLC, Marketing Assistance Loans and more! Please pay close attention to the acreage reporting dates below.

2015 Crops:
July 15, 2015: Corn, Soybeans ,CRP, and all other spring-seeded crops

2016 Crops:
December 15, 2015: All fall seeded crops (Wheat), Hay and Pasture (Alfalfa, Grass, Clover, etc.)

CRP Certification

Does your farm have CRP on it? Annual crop acreage certification on a FSA-578 also includes Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acreage certification. By certifying CRP acreage on a FSA-578 you are certifying that the CRP acres are in compliance and eligible to receive your annual CRP payment. Make sure your CRP is in compliance prior to crop certification to avoid noncompliance situations. Noncompliance could result in the termination of the contract and repayment of all monies received plus interest and liquidated damages.

Failed & Prevented Planting Reporting

Failed Acreage: Reports of failed acreage must be filed BEFORE disposition of the crop so that a field visit can be completed.

Prevented Acreage: Reports of prevented acreage must be reported no later than 15 days after the final planting date(s).

Logan County FSA Committee (COC) Election

The Logan County FSA office is accepting candidate nominations for the Logan County FSA Committee until August 3, 2015. FSA encourages all eligible producers to nominate themselves, or another eligible producer, to run as candidates.

Nomination forms (FSA-669A’s) are available:
at http://www.fsa.usda.gov/elections , scroll down to the links under “Election Materials” and CLICK “2015 Nomination Form”, by picking up the FSA-669A at the Logan County FSA office, by calling the office and requesting the FSA-669A be sent to you.

The election will be held in Local Administrative Area (LAA) # 2. LAA-2 includes the following townships: Eminence, Atlanta, Oran, East Lincoln, Chester, and Aetna.

Farm Loan Information

Because commodity prices for 2014 and 2015 have dropped considerably, farm operators may have a greater need for credit in the 2015 crop year. Many lenders may be interested in using our guarantee programs again. FSA is pleased to say we have plenty of funds for both farm real estate and operating loan categories at this time. If your lender is not interested in a guarantee request, then you may be eligible for a direct operating loan up to $300,000.00.

The farm bill also changed some of FSA rules on purchasing farm real estate for both beginning and non-beginning farmers who cannot get credit elsewhere and have not had a FSA real estate loan for more than 10 years. One rule that did not change is that FSA does not refinance farmland with direct loan funds.

For beginning farmers who have farmed for 3 years and less than 10 full years, the acreage requirements have changed. The rule went from 30% median in the county to 30% of the average acreage in the county. The Farm Bill also increased the loan limit from $225,000.00 to $300,000.00.

For both non-beginning and beginning farmers who might not be eligible for the program above, FSA has a real estate program called joint financial, where a lender loans 50% and FSA loans the other 50% of the total loan request up to $300,000.00 for FSA’s part. The interest rate for FSA now is 2% less than the direct Farm Ownership rate, but not lower than 2.5%. The funding in this program is better than in the past, but still limited compared to other programs.

As always with FSA programs, the details help to determine who might be eligible. If you have any questions regarding this information, please contact Tony Schmillen at the Logan County Farm Service Agency, 217-735-5508 ext. 2 or tony.schmillen @il.usda.gov

Important Date & Reminders

• June 5 -  Final Crop Insurance planting date for Corn
• June 20 -  Final Crop Insurance planting date for Soybeans
• June 22 -  Final date to File a Notice of Loss for Prevent Plant Corn
• Summer 2015  - Sign 2014 & 2015 ARC/PLC Contracts
• July 3 -   Independence Day Observed *Office Closed*
• July 6 -  Final date to File a Notice of Loss for Prevent Plant Soybeans
• July 15 -  Final date to report spring planted crops
• August 2 -  End of Primary Nesting & Brood Rearing Season (CRP maintenance allowed)
• August 3 -  Final date to request a Farm Reconstitution for 2015
• August 3 -  Candidate Nomination period ends for 2015 County Committee Election - LAA 2
• Continuous -  Farm Record Changes (new owners, new operators, direct deposits, etc.)
• Continuous -  Farm Storage Facility Loan Applications
• Continuous -  CRP Applications (grassed waterways, filter strips, field borders, pollinator habitat)

Questions?

Please contact, John Peters, County Executive Director, at 217-735-5508 ext 2, john.peters @il.usda.gov  or for Farm Loans, please contact Tony Schmillen, Farm Loan Manager, at 217-735-5508 ext 2, [e-mail]

USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call [phone] (Toll-free Customer Service), [phone] (Local or Federal relay), [phone] (Relay voice users).

Logan County USDA
1650 5th Street
Lincoln, IL, 62656
Hours:
Monday - Friday
8:00 am - 4:30 pm

Phone: [phone] ext. 2
Fax: [phone]

County Committee:
Kenton Stoll - Chairman
Dennis Ramlow - Vice Chairman
Tim Southerlan - Member
Dorothy Gleason - Advisor

County Executive Director:
John Peters

Program Technicians:
Ann Curry
Tammy Edwards
Mari Anne Komnick
Cindy Mayfield
Chelsie Peddicord

Farm Loan Manager:
Tony Schmillen

Next COC Meeting is tentatively scheduled for 06/24/2015