Logan County FSA July Updates
2017 ARC/PLC Enrollment Ends August 1

[July 24, 2017]    2017 ARC/PLC Enrollment Ends August 1 - Producers on farms with base acres under the safety net programs established by the 2014 Farm Bill, known as the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) or Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs, can visit their local FSA office to sign contracts and enroll for the 2017 crop year.  The enrollment period will continue until Aug. 1, 2017. 

Since shares and ownership of a farm can change year-to-year, producers on the farm must enroll by signing a contract each program year.  

If a farm is not enrolled during the 2017 enrollment period, the producers on that farm will not be eligible for financial assistance from the ARC or PLC programs for the 2017 crop should crop prices or farm revenues fall below the historical price or revenue benchmarks established by the program. Producers who made their elections in 2015 must still enroll during the 2017 enrollment period.

The ARC and PLC programs were authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill and offer a safety net to agricultural producers when there is a substantial drop in prices or revenues for covered commodities.  Covered commodities include barley, canola, large and small chickpeas, corn, crambe, flaxseed, grain sorghum, lentils, mustard seed, oats, peanuts, dry peas, rapeseed, long grain rice, medium grain rice (which includes short grain and sweet rice), safflower seed, sesame, soybeans, sunflower seed and wheat. Upland cotton is no longer a covered commodity.  For more details regarding these programs, go to www.fsa.usda.gov/arc-plc. 

For more information, please call or visit to call the Logan County FSA office at 217-735-5508 ext. 2. 

Required Management on CRP Acres

Participants in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) are responsible for maintaining the acreage under contract to the minimum specifications and acreages as required by their conservation plan and supporting documents.  This includes not only controlling excessive weeds, invasive species, and trees in grass practices, but completing required management on CRP practices as scheduled in conservation plans as well.

The purpose of required management activities, commonly referred to as mid contract management (MCM), is to enhance the wildlife habitat value of the enrolled acres for species such as pollinators, and others.  In grass practices, the perennial grasses tend to crowd out the desired broadleaf plants, litter accumulates and plant diversity declines.  In tree practices, thinning or pruning may be needed to improve tree growth or enhancements needed in open areas to encourage plant diversity for wildlife.   

These activities (as well as any treatment for weed control or maintenance) must be completed outside of the primary nesting season.  In Logan County, the primary nesting season for a contract is from April 15 through August 1. Any activities completed during this time period may result in a contract violation and payment reduction.

Supervised Credit

Farm Service Agency (FSA) Farm Loan programs are considered supervised credit. Unlike loans from a commercial lender, FSA loans are intended to be temporary in nature. Therefore, it is our goal to help you graduate to commercial credit, and our farm loan staff is available to help borrowers through training and credit counseling. 

The FSA team will help borrowers identify their goals to ensure financial success. Through this process, FSA staff will advise borrowers in developing strategies and a plan to meet your operation’s goals and graduate to commercial credit. Ultimately, the borrower is responsible for the success of the farming operation, but FSA’s staff will help in an advisory role to provide the tools necessary to help you achieve your operational goals and manage your finances. 

For more information on FSA farm loan programs, visit www.fsa.usda.gov.

Questions? 

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

Logan County FSA Office
1650 5th Street
Lincoln, IL, 62656

Hours:
Monday - Friday
8:00 am - 4:30 pm
Phone: [phone] ext. 2
Fax:[phone]

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

County Executive Director:
John Peters

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

Farm Loan Manager:
Tony Schmillen

County Operations Trainee:
Miranda Belcher

Next COC Meeting :
August 30th

Persons with disabilities who require accommodations to attend or participate in this meeting should contact John Peters at 217-735-5508 extension 2 or Federal Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339.

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).