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 Since shares and ownership of a farm can change year-to-year,
producers must enroll by signing a contract each program year.
Some farmers tend to wait to sign up and report their acreages
at the same time, however we never know if we'll have a wet
spring and delayed planting that could change their acreage
reporting.
Credit concerns may also be on some farmer's minds. I recommend
that you consider FSA, which has more than $1 billion in direct
loans and guaranteed loans in Illinois this year. If you are a
farmer and you are struggling for credit, you need to come in
and talk with us. If you didn't end up with big yields this
year, you or your banker can come in and talk to us about a
loan. FSA offers direct loans, guaranteed loans and beginning
farmer loans. Young farmers especially, should discuss
financial options available through FSA even if they are not
ready to sign for a loan. Come in and find out what is
available should the situation arise later.
One more item on the farmers' to do list is checking their
Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contracts for any
mid-management practices. I urge farmers to seek what, if any,
mid-management practices are stipulated in the contract and when
those need to be accomplished. Farmers need to check with their
county offices regarding their CRP contract mid-management
practices.
Upcoming Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP)
Application Closing Date
The Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) closing
deadline for spring and summer planted crops, including fruits
and vegetables is March 15. Eligible producers must apply for
coverage and pay the applicable service fees annually by the
application closing date. Acreage reports are also due
annually. Coverage for specific crops may be checked online at
www.fsa.usda.gov/nap.
Update Your Records
FSA is cleaning up our producer record database. If you have any
unreported changes of address, zip code, phone number, email
address or an incorrect name or business name on file they need
to be reported to our office. Changes in your farm operation,
like the addition of a farm by lease or purchase, need to be
reported to our office as well. Producers participating in FSA
and NRCS programs are required to timely report changes in their
farming operation to the County Committee in writing and update
their CCC-902 Farm Operating Plan.
If you have any updates or corrections, please call your local
FSA office to update your records.
Farm Storage Facility Loans
FSA’s Farm Storage Facility Loan (FSFL) program provides
low-interest financing to producers to build or upgrade storage
facilities and to purchase portable (new or used) structures,
equipment and storage and handling trucks.
The low-interest funds can be used to build or upgrade permanent
facilities to store commodities. Eligible commodities include
corn, grain sorghum, rice, soybeans, oats, peanuts, wheat,
barley, minor oilseeds harvested as whole grain, pulse crops
(lentils, chickpeas and dry peas), hay, honey, renewable
biomass, fruits, nuts and vegetables for cold storage
facilities, floriculture, hops, maple sap, rye, milk, cheese,
butter, yogurt, meat and poultry (unprocessed), eggs, and
aquaculture (excluding systems that maintain live animals
through uptake and discharge of water). Qualified facilities
include grain bins, hay barns and cold storage facilities for
eligible commodities.
Producers do not need to demonstrate the lack of commercial
credit availability to apply. The loans are designed to assist a
diverse range of farming operations, including small and
mid-sized businesses, new farmers, operations supplying local
food and farmers markets, non-traditional farm products, and
underserved producers.
To learn more about the FSA Farm Storage Facility Loan, visit
www.fsa
.usda.gov/pricesupport or contact your local FSA
county office. To find your local FSA county office, visit
http://offices.usda.gov.
Communication is Key in Lending
Farm Service Agency (FSA) is committed to providing our farm
loan borrowers the tools necessary to be a success. A part of
ensuring this success is providing guidance and counsel from the
loan application process through the borrower’s graduation to
commercial lending institutions. While it is FSA’s commitment to
advise borrowers as they identify goals and evaluate progress,
it is crucial for borrowers to communicate with their farm loan
staff when changes occur. It is the borrower’s responsibility to
alert FSA to any of the following:
Any proposed or significant changes in the farming operation;
Any significant changes to family income or expenses;
The development of problem situations;
Any losses or proposed significant changes in security
In addition, if a farm loan borrower cannot make payments to
suppliers, other creditors, or FSA on time, contact your farm
loan staff immediately to discuss loan servicing options.
For more information on FSA farm loan programs, visit
www.fsa.usda.gov.
CRP Participants Must Maintain Approved Cover on Acreages
Enrolled in CRP and Farm Programs
Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) participants are responsible
for ensuring adequate, approved vegetative and practice cover is
maintained to control erosion throughout the life of the
contract after the practice has been established. Participants
must also control undesirable vegetation, weeds (including
noxious weeds), insects and rodents that may pose a threat to
existing cover or adversely impact other landowners in the area.
All CRP maintenance activities, such as mowing, burning, disking
and spraying, must be conducted outside the primary nesting or
brood rearing season for wildlife, which for Illinois is April
15 through August 1. However, spot treatment of the acreage may
be allowed during the primary nesting or brood rearing season
if, left untreated, the weeds, insects or undesirable species
would adversely impact the approved cover. In this instance,
spot treatment is limited to the affected areas in the field and
requires County Committee approval prior to beginning the spot
treatment. The County Committee will consult with NRCS to
determine if such activities are needed to maintain the approved
cover.
Annual mowing of CRP for generic weed control, or for cosmetic
purposes, is prohibited at all times.
USDA Processing Pending Conservation Reserve Program Continuous
Enrollment Offers
USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) will process many pending
eligible offers for land enrollment in the Conservation Reserve
Program (CRP), and will temporarily suspend accepting most new
offers until later in the 2018 fiscal year.
All current, eligible CRP continuous enrollment offers made
through Sept. 30, 2017, except for those made under the
Pollinator Habitat Initiative (CP42), will be approved,
Additionally, FSA is temporarily suspending acceptance of most
offers going forward to provide time to review CRP allocation
levels, and to avoid exceeding the statutory cap of 24 million
acres.
The CRP acreage cap is a provision of the 2014 Farm Bill.
Current enrollment is about 23.5 million acres nationwide. USDA
is accepting all pending continuous enrollment offers that were
made beginning on May 4, 2017, and extending through Sept. 30,
2017, except Pollinator Habitat Initiative offers. Pollinator
acreage offers are being declined because the program has met
its acreage enrollment goal. Effective immediately, USDA is
suspending acceptance of all new CRP continuous offers received
or submitted after Sept. 30, 2017. The suspension will continue
until later in the 2018 fiscal year.
However, FSA will continue to accept eligible offers for
state-specific Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP)
and CRP Grasslands enrollment. Offers received on or after Oct.
1, 2017, are subject to fiscal year 2018 rental rates which have
been adjusted to reflect current market conditions and were
established after careful review of the latest USDA National
Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) cash rent data.
In return for enrolling in CRP, USDA, through FSA, provides
participants with rental payments and cost-share assistance.
Landowners enter into contracts that last between 10 and 15
years. CRP pays farmers and ranchers who remove sensitive lands
from production and plant certain grasses, shrubs and trees that
improve water quality, prevent soil erosion and increase
wildlife habitat. Payment totals for 2017 were announced earlier
this week totaling over $1.6 billion.
For more information about CRP, contact your local FSA office or
visit www.fsa.usda.gov/crp.
To locate your local FSA office, visit
http://offices. usda.gov.
Acreage Reporting
Permitted Revision of Intended use After Acreage Reporting Date:
New operators or owners who pick up a farm after the acreage
reporting deadline has passed and the crop has already been
reported on the farm, have 30 days to change the intended use.
Producer share interest changes alone will not allow for
revisions to intended use after the acreage reporting date.
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The revision must be performed by either the acreage reporting date
or within 30 calendar days from the date when the new operator or
owner acquired the lease on land, control of the land or ownership
and new producer crop share interest in the previously reported crop
acreage. Under this policy, appropriate documentation must be
provided to the County Committee’s satisfaction to determine that a
legitimate operator or ownership and producer crop share interest
change occurred to permit the revision.
Acreage Reports:
In order to maintain program eligibility and benefits, producers
must timely file acreage reports. Failure to file an acreage report
by the crop acreage reporting deadline may result in ineligibility
for future program benefits. FSA will not accept acreage reports
provided more than a year after the acreage reporting deadline.
Definitions of Terms:
FSA defines “idle” as cropland or a balance of cropland within a
Common Land Unit (CLU) (field/subfield) which is not planted or
considered not planted and does not meet the definition of fallow or
skip row. For example, the balance of a field that could not be
planted due to moisture or a turn area that is not planted would be
reported as idle.
Fallow is considered unplanted cropland acres which are part of a
crop/fallow rotation where cultivated land that is normally planted
is purposely kept out of production during a regular growing season.
Resting the ground in this manner allows it to recover its fertility
and conserve moisture for crop production in the next growing
season.
Cover Crop Guidelines:
Recently the Farm Service Agency (FSA), Natural Resources
Conservation Service (NRCS) and Risk Management Agency (RMA) worked
together to develop consistent, simple and a flexible policy for
cover crop practices.
The termination and reporting guidelines were updated for cover
crops.
Termination:
The cover crop termination guidelines provide the timeline for
terminating cover crops, are based on zones and apply to
non-irrigated cropland. To view the zones and additional guidelines
visit
https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/ wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/landuse/
crops/ and click “Cover Crop Termination Guidelines.”
Reporting Cover Crops
The intended use of cover only will be used to report cover crops.
This includes crops, that were terminated by tillage and reported
with an intended use code of green manure. An FSA policy change will
allow cover crops to be hayed and grazed. Program eligibility for
the cover crop that is being hayed or grazed will be determined by
each specific program.
If the crop reported as cover only is harvested for any use other
than forage or grazing and is not terminated properly, then that
crop will no longer be considered a cover crop.
Crops reported with an intended use of cover only will not count
toward the total cropland on the farm. In these situations a
subsequent crop will be reported to account for all cropland on the
farm.
Cover crops include grasses, legumes, and forbs, for seasonal cover
and other conservation purposes. Cover crops are primarily used for
erosion control, soil health Improvement, and water quality
improvement. The cover crop may be terminated by natural causes,
such as frost, or intentionally terminated through chemical
application, crimping, rolling, tillage or cutting. A cover crop
managed and terminated according to NRCS Cover Crop Termination
Guidelines is not considered a crop for crop insurance purposes.
Cover crops can be planted: with no subsequent crop planted, before
a subsequent crop, after prevented planting acreage, after a planted
crop, or into a standing crop.
Using FSA Direct Farm Ownership Loans for Construction
The USDA Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) Direct Farm Ownership loans are
a resource to help farmers and ranchers become owner-operators of
family farms, improve and expand current operations, increase
agricultural productivity, and assist with land tenure to save
farmland for future generations.
Depending on the applicant’s needs, there are three types of Direct
Farm Ownership Loans: regular, down payment and joint financing. FSA
also offers a Direct Farm Ownership Microloan option for smaller
financial needs up to $50,000.
Amongst other purposes, Direct Farm Ownership Loans can be used to
construct, purchase or improve farm dwellings, service buildings or
other facilities and improvements essential to an operation.
To do this, applicants must provide FSA with an estimate of the
total cost of all planned development that completely describe the
work, prior to loan approval and must show proof of sufficient funds
to pay for the total cost of all planned development at or before
loan closing. In some instances, applicants may be asked to provide
certified plans, specifications or contract documents. The applicant
cannot incur any debts for materials or labor or make any
expenditures for development purposes prior to loan closing with the
expectation of being reimbursed from FSA funds.
Construction and development work may be performed either by the
contract method or the borrower method. Under the contract method,
construction and development contractors perform work according to a
written contract with the applicant or borrower. An applicant for a
direct loan to finance a construction project must obtain a surety
bond that guarantees both payment and performance in the amount of
the construction contract from a construction contractor.
A surety bond is required when a contract exceeds $100,000, an
authorized agency official determines that a surety bond appears
advisable to protect the borrower against default of the contractor
or a contract provides for partial payments in excess of the amount
of 60 percent of the value of the work in place.
Under the borrower method, the applicant or borrower will perform
the construction and development work. The borrower method may only
be used when the authorized agency official determines, based on
information from the applicant, that the applicant possesses or
arranges to obtain the necessary skill and managerial ability to
complete the work satisfactorily and that such work will not
interfere with the applicant’s farming operation or work schedule.
For more eligibility requirements and information about FSA Loan
programs, contact your local FSA office or visit
www.fsa.usda.gov. To
find your local FSA office, visit
http://offices.usda.gov.
Maintaining the Quality of Farm-Stored Loan Grain
Bins are ideally designed to hold a level volume of grain. When bins
are overfilled and grain is heaped up, airflow is hindered and the
chance of spoilage increases.
Producers who take out marketing assistance loans and use the
farm-stored grain as collateral should remember that they are
responsible for maintaining the quality of the grain through the
term of the loan.
February Interest Rates and
Important Dates to Remember
Illinois Farm Service Agency
3500 Wabash Ave
Springfield, IL 62711-8287
Phone: 217-241-6600 ext. 2
Fax: 855-800-1760
www.fsa.usda.gov/il
State Executive Director:
William J. Graff
State Committee:
James Reed-Chairperson
Martin Barbre-Member
Melanie DeSutter-Member
Ron Moore-Member
Troy Uphoff-Member
Executive Officer:
Rick Graden
Administrative Officer:
Dan Puccetti
Division Chiefs:
Doug Bailey
John Gerhke
Randy Tillman
To find contact information for your local office go to
www.fsa.usda.gov/il 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 (866)
632-9992 (Toll-free Customer Service), (800) 877-8339 (Local or
Federal relay), (866) 377-8642 (Relay voice users).
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