$3 Million USDA assistance just waiting for Renewable Energy and Bio-based products applications

[June 14, 2016]    USDA Resumes Incentives to Grow and Harvest Biomass for Energy and Biobased Products - Farm Service Agency (FSA) has announced that incentives resume this month for farmers and foresters who grow and harvest biomass for renewable energy and biobased products. The funds come through the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP), which was reauthorized by the 2014 Farm Bill.

Facilities seeking to be qualified by USDA to accept biomass can begin enrollment between today, May 23, and June 6, 2016. BCAP provides financial assistance to farmers and ranchers who establish and maintain new crops of energy biomass, or who harvest and deliver forest or agricultural residues to a USDA-approved facility that creates energy or biobased products.

In fiscal year 2016, there is $3 million available for BCAP. A portion of the funds will be provided to two existing BCAP projects in New York and Ohio/Pennsylvania to expand acres planted to shrub willow and giant miscanthus. Farmers and forest landowners may enroll for biomass establishment and maintenance payments for these two projects between June 15 and Sept. 13, 2016.

Also, between June 15 to Aug. 4, 2016, USDA will accept applications from foresters and farmers seeking incentives to remove biomass residues from fields or national forests for delivery to energy generation facilities. The retrieval payments are provided at match of $1 for $1, up to $20 per dry ton. Eligible crops include corn residue, diseased or insect-infested wood materials, or orchard waste.

To learn more about BCAP or to enroll in updates, visit www.fsa.usda.gov/bcap or contact your local FSA county office. To find your local county office, visit http://offices.usda.gov.

IDOA (Illinois Department of Agriculture) Clean Sweep Collection in Central Illinois

Residents of twelve central Illinois counties can dispose of unwanted agrichemicals for free this year through the IDOA agricultural pesticide “clean sweep” program.

A “clean sweep” collection has been scheduled in late summer for Clark, Coles, Crawford, Cumberland, Douglas, Edgar, Effingham, Jasper, Lawrence, Moultrie, Richland, and Shelby counties. The collection, which rotates among Illinois counties, is open to farmers, retired farmers, nursery owners, private pesticide applicators, structural pest control applicators and landowners who inherited unwanted agricultural pesticides with their property.

Interested persons must register the products they plan to dispose of by July 15, 2016. Registration is required to give the waste disposal contractor time to prepare for the different kinds of materials that will need to be handled. Forms can be obtained by calling the Illinois Department of Agriculture’s Pesticide Hotline at 1-800-641-3934. Completed forms should be mailed or faxed to the IDOA State Fairgrounds, P.O. Box 19281, Springfield, IL 63794-9281. The fax number is [phone]. Interested persons will then be sent a reservation card indicating the date, time and location of their collection.

Please be advised, it is not illegal to own these products, but it is illegal to dispose of them improperly. This program offers a free, legal way of disposal with no disposal liability to the participants.

Soil Water Conservation District offices; County Farm Bureau offices; and U of I Extension offices in the counties named above are the sponsors of this event being held by the Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA).

Questions?

Please contact your local County FSA Office with any questions you may have.

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender. 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).

[USDA Farm Service Agency]