FSA News & Views

DEADLINES

October 30, 2021 — Final day to file a NAP Notice of Loss

November 11, 2021 — Office Closed - Veteran's Day

November 15, 2021 — Fall Acreage Reporting Deadline 

December 6, 2021 — Deadline to return Election Ballot

January 31, 2022 — LFP and ELAP Application Deadline

Fall Acreage Reporting

The deadline to report fall-seeded crops such as Winter Wheat, Rye and Triticale is November 15, 2021.  Please provide a copy of your maps with the crops and plant dates to the office by the deadline to avoid a late-filed fee.

Report Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) Production and Potential Losses

Please provide your hayed acres production to our office.  If you didn’t cut all the acres, you should request an appraisal on the uncut acres by filing a notice of loss.  A notice of loss must be filed within 15 days of when the loss is apparent or by October 30th. 

COC Election

Election ballots will be mailed in November for LAA-2 with December 6th as the final date to return the ballots.

Disaster Assistance for

2021 Livestock Forage Losses

Producers in Edmunds County are eligible to apply for 2021 Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) benefits on small grain, native pasture, forage sorghum and improved pasture.

LFP provides compensation if you suffer grazing losses for covered livestock due to drought on privately owned or cash leased land or fire on federally managed land.

County committees can only accept LFP applications after notification is received by the National Office of qualifying drought or if a federal agency prohibits producers from grazing normal permitted livestock on federally managed lands due to qualifying fire.  You must complete a CCC-853 and the required supporting documentation no later than January 30, 2022, for 2021 losses.

For additional information about LFP, including eligible livestock and fire criteria, contact the Edmunds County USDA Service Center or visit fsa.usda.gov.

ELAP Covers Losses from Additional Cost of Transporting Water to Livestock

If you’ve incurred additional operating costs for transporting water to livestock due to an eligible drought, assistance may be available to you through the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP).

An eligible drought means that part or all of your county is designated D3 (extreme drought) or higher as indicated by the U.S. Drought Monitor.

Eligible livestock must be adult or non-adult dairy cattle, beef cattle, buffalo and beefalo, as well as alpacas, deer, elk, emus, equine, goats, llamas, reindeer, or sheep. Additionally, the livestock must have been owned 60 calendar days prior to the beginning of the drought and be physically located in the county designated as a disaster area due to drought. Adequate livestock watering systems or facilities must have existed before the drought occurred and producers are only eligible if they do not normally transport water to the livestock.

Livestock that were or would have been in a feedlot are not eligible for transporting water. ELAP covers the additional cost of transporting water and does not cover the cost of the water itself.

You must file a notice of loss on form CCC-851 the earlier of 30 calendar days of when the loss is apparent to you or by Jan. 31, 2022.  Additionally, the deadline to submit an application for payment for 2021 ELAP assistance is Jan. 31, 2022.

You’ll have to provide documentation to FSA that shows the method used to transport the water, the number of gallons of water transported and the number of eligible livestock to which water was transported.

For more information on ELAP, contact the Edmunds County USDA Service Center or visit fsa.usda.gov/nap.

NRCS Cover Crop Seed Quality Requirements

For the past decade, cover crops have been increasing in popularity in the North Missouri Region of South Dakota. Many producers have utilized USDA farm programs such as the Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP) and the Conservation Stewardship Program (CStwP) to receive financial assistance when trying cover crops for the first time. When a producer utilizes one of these programs, they are responsible for meeting NRCS specifications and standards when purchasing and planting cover crops.  If they fail to meet these requirements, payments can be withheld.

Seed Quality is one component that NRCS reviews when certifying that a planted cover crop mix meets practice standards and specifications. As the NRCS District Conservationist for Edmunds county, I review many cover crop plantings to ensure they meet our specifications. In the past year I have seen a consistent deficiency in meeting our seed quality requirements. In attempt to change this pattern I am providing a summary of our seed quality specifications.

NRCS seeding rates are based on Pure Live Seed (PLS) obtained from seed tag information or lab test results. To ensure the quality of seed, the minimum bulk seed germination allowed for each species is 85%. For seed lots testing below the minimum, the seed rate must be based on PLS and not the bulk seed rate. To reiterate, when total viable percentages fall below 85%, actual seeding rates MUST be increased to compensate for non-viable seed.

Non-commercial (bin-run) seed can be used, if the seed has been tested and contains no prohibited noxious weed seed (no tolerance allowed). Cooperators using bin seed must be careful to adhere to the restrictions imposed by the federal Plant Variety Protection Act, the SD seed rules and statutes, and laws governing the use of seed from patented plants. All seed, including homegrown seed, must be tested for purity and germination to determine if the minimum germination has been met or if PLS calculations must be used to determine the proper seeding rate. Tests must be made within a nine-month period, exclusive of the test month, prior to seeding. That means if you have prior year seed, retesting of the seed is required if the nine-month period has lapsed. Seed can be tested at SDSU.

For more information go to https://www.sdstate.edu/ps/seed-lab/index.cfm.

As always, if you’re a cooperator, seed dealer, or just curious and have questions about NRCS cover crop standards and specifications, please don’t hesitate to call your local NRCS office. We are happy to assist and provide you with any information that will help get cover crops and conservation on the ground.