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 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.
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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, tony.schmillen@il.usda.gov
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
(866) 632-9992 (Toll-free Customer Service), (800) 877-8339
(Local or Federal relay), (866) 377-8642 (Relay voice users).
Logan County USDA
1650 5th Street
Lincoln, IL, 62656
Hours:
Monday - Friday
8:00 am - 4:30 pm
Phone: 217-735-5508 ext. 2
Fax: 855-693-7125
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
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