What's up at the FSA Office?

by Joyce Davidshofer, Allamakee County Executive Director

June 9, 2014 – August 8, 2014 – CRP contracts expiring September 30, 2014 can extend for one year.
There will be no General CRP Sign-up for 2014.
CRP one-year extensions – June 9th – August 8, 2014. Not for 15 years contracts. CRP producers should have received a letter from Kansas City in regards to their CRP contract expiring on October 1, 2014. There is an option to extend the contract for one year for the same rental rate. You may modify the acres to fewer acres, but cannot increase acres for this one year. Contact the Allamakee County FSA Office for more details.

Note: Service Agency County Committee Nomination Period Began June 15 and ends August 1, 2014.
The LAA for elections this year include the townships of Ludlow, Jefferson, Post, Franklin, Linton and Fairview. Donald McCormick presently is the member of the Allamakee County Committee. McCormick has served three three-year terms and cannot run for re-election. The Allamakee County FSA Office is in search of persons interested in serving on the Allamakee County Committee starting January 1, 2015 for a three-year term.
To be eligible to serve on an FSA county committee, a person must participate or cooperate in a program administered by FSA, be eligible to vote in a county committee election and reside in the local administrative area where the person is nominated.
 Farmers and ranchers may nominate themselves or others. Organizations representing minorities and women also may nominate candidates. To become a candidate, an eligible individual must sign the nomination form, FSA-669A. The form and other information about FSA county committee elections are available at www.fsa.usda.gov/elections. Nomination forms for the 2014 election must be postmarked or received in the Allamakee County FSA Service Center by close of business August 1, 2014. Elections will take place this fall.
 While FSA county committees do not approve or deny farm ownership or operating loans, they make decisions on disaster and conservation programs, emergency programs, commodity price support loan programs and other agricultural issues. Members serve three-year terms. Nationwide, there are about 7,800 farmers and ranchers serving on FSA county committees. Committees consist of three to 11 members that are elected by eligible producers.
FSA will mail ballots to eligible voters beginning November 3, 2014. Ballots are due back to the local county office either via mail or in person by December 1, 2014. Newly elected committee members and alternates take office on Jan. 1, 2015.
For more information in regards to the Allamakee County FSA elections for the county committee member, call 563-568-2148.

ARC/PLC First Step Process
Kansas City will be sending letters out to all landowners to notify the commodity acreage history for the years 2009-2012. All landowners/operators are to review the history presented in this letter.
If there are any years missing reported acres, contact the Allamakee County FSA Office.  Reasons there may be years missing are sale of part of the farm, sale part of a parcel (tract), transferred in a farm or transferred out a farm/tract of the county and/or other situations not mentioned here.
This is the first step by the Allamakee FSA Office to research each farm missing data. There are approximately 2102 farms in Allamakee County. This step will allow owners to update or retain the current base and yields. Bases will not be increased, but can be reallocated. There will be more information to come on this first step.
For more inforamtion contact the Allamakee County FSA Office at 563-568-2148.

Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program
The Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raise Fish Program (ELAP) provides emergency assistance to eligible producers of livestock, honeybees and farm-raised fish that have losses due to disease, adverse weather, or other conditions, such as blizzards and wildfires. ELAP assistance is provided for losses not covered by LFP and LIP. Producers who suffered eligible livestock, honeybee or farm-raised fish losses during 2012 and 2013 program years must submit a notice of loss and application for payment to the Allamakee County FSA office by August 1, 2014. For 2014 program year losses, the notice of loss and an application for payment must be submitted by November 1, 2014.