DATES TO REMEMBER
February 17 — Office Closed President's Day
February 28 — CRP General Signup deadline
February 29 — Final day to file application for payment for 2019 LIP losses
March 15 — NAP sales closing date
March 15 — ARC/PLC sign-up deadline for the 2019 crop year
March 31 — Deadline to obtain Marketing Assistance Loan on 2019 wheat, oats, barley
May 31 — Deadline to obtain Marketing Assistance Loan on 2019 corn, sunflowers, grain sorghum, soybeans
June 30 — ARC/PLC sign-up deadline for the 2020 crop year
Farm Bill sign-up
Producers have a choice to enroll in three different programs:
• Price Loss Coverage (PLC) price protection only
• Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC-CO) county level revenue coverage
• Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC-IC) individual farm level revenue coverage
The deadline to elect a program and enroll for 2019 is March 15, 2020. The program elected for 2019 will also be effective for 2020. Farm owners will also have a one-time opportunity to update PLC payment yields that take effect beginning with crop year 2020. Please call for an appointment.
Land Changes
If you are operating new land for 2020, we need either a cash lease or notification from the owner indicating you are either cash renting or share renting the acreage for 2020
Changes to CRP Acreage Reporting
For 2020 and future years, an annual acreage report of all CRP acreage is required. The certification can be filed on either FSA-578 or CRP817U.
USDA Reminds Producers of Feb. 28 Deadline
for Conservation Reserve Program General Signup
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reminds agricultural producers interested in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) 2020 general signup to enroll by February 28, 2020. This signup is available to farmers and private landowners who are either enrolling for the first time or re-enrolling for another 10- to 15-year term.
Farmers and ranchers who enroll in CRP receive yearly rental payments for voluntarily establishing long-term, resource-conserving plant species, such as approved grasses or trees (known as “covers”), which can control soil erosion, improve water quality and develop wildlife habitat on marginally productive agricultural lands.
CRP has 22 million acres enrolled, but the 2018 Farm Bill lifted the cap to 27 million acres.
Signed into law in 1985, CRP is one of the largest private-lands conservation programs in the U.S. It was originally intended to primarily control soil erosion and potentially stabilize commodity prices by taking marginal lands out of production. The program has evolved over the years, providing many conservation and economic benefits. Marking its 35th anniversary in 2020, CRP has had many successes, including:
• Preventing more than 9 billion tons of soil from eroding, enough soil to fill 600 million dump trucks;
• Reducing nitrogen and phosphorous runoff relative to annually tilled cropland by 95 and 85 percent respectively;
• Sequestering an annual average of 49 million tons of greenhouse gases, equal to taking 9 million cars off the road;
• Creating more than 3 million acres of restored wetlands while protecting more than 175,000 stream miles with riparian forest and grass buffers, enough to go around the world 7 times; and
• Benefiting bees and other pollinators and increased populations of ducks, pheasants, turkey, bobwhite quail, prairie chickens, grasshopper sparrows and many other birds.
The CRP continuous signup is ongoing, which enables producers to enroll for certain practices. FSA plans to open the Soil Health and Income Protection Program, a CRP pilot program, in early 2020, and the 2020 CRP Grasslands signup runs from March 16, 2020 to May 15, 2020.
FSA Encourages Producers to Enroll Now in
Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage Programs
USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) encourages agricultural producers to enroll now in the Agriculture Risk Loss (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs. March 15, 2020 is the enrollment deadline for the 2019 crop year. Although more than 7,000 farms have enrolled to date, FSA anticipates 53,000 farms will enroll for ARC and PLC in South Dakota. By enrolling now, producers can beat the rush as the deadline nears.
FSA offices have multiple programs competing for the time and attention of our staff. Because of the importance and complexities of the ARC and PLC programs; and to ensure FSA meets your program delivery expectations, please do not wait to start the enrollment process. The Edmunds County FSA staff can provide you with knowledge and resources to complete the enrollment process. If you missed your scheduled appointment, call the Edmunds County FSA Office and make an appointment now to ensure your elections are made and contracts signed well ahead of the deadlines.
ARC and PLC provide financial protections to farmers from substantial drops in crop prices or revenues and are vital economic safety nets for most American farms.
The programs cover the following commodities: barley, canola, large and small chickpeas, corn, crambe, flaxseed, grain sorghum, lentils, mustard seed, oats, peanuts, dry peas, rapeseed, long grain rice, medium and short grain rice, safflower seed, seed cotton, sesame, soybeans, sunflower seed and wheat.
Submit Loan Requests
for Financing Early
The Farm Loan team is already working on operating loans for spring 2020 so it is important that potential borrowers submit their requests early so they can be timely processed. The farm loan team can help determine which loan programs are best for applicants.
FSA offers a wide range of low-interest loans that can meet the financial needs of any farm operation for just about any purpose. The traditional farm operating and farm ownership loans can help large and small farm operations take advantage of early purchasing discounts for spring inputs as well as expenses throughout the year.
Microloans are a simplified loan program that will provide up to $50,000 for both Farm Ownership and Operating Microloans to eligible applicants. These loans, targeted for smaller operations and non-traditional operations, can be used for operating expenses, starting a new agricultural enterprise, purchasing equipment, and other needs associated with a farming operation. Loans to beginning farmers and members of underserved groups are a priority.
Other types of loans available include:
Marketing Assistance Loans allow producers to use eligible commodities as loan collateral and obtain a 9-month loan while the crop is in storage. These loans provide cash flow to the producer and allow them to market the crop when prices may be more advantageous.
Farm Storage Facility Loans can be used to build permanent structures used to store eligible commodities, or for storage and handling trucks, or portable or permanent handling equipment. A variety of structures are eligible under this loan, including bunker silos, grain bins, hay storage structures and refrigerated structures for vegetables and fruit. A producer may borrow up to $500,000 per loan.
Please call the Brown County office at 605-226-3360 for questions on operating and ownership loans and the Edmunds County office at 605-426-6951 for questions on Marketing Assistance Loans and Farm Storage Facility Loans.
USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender.
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