What's up at the FSA Office?

by Joyce Davidshofer, Allamake County Executive Director

Reminders
January 19 – Office closed for Martin Luther King Day.
January 22 - Meeting at 7 p.m. at Farmers & Merchants Savings Bank, Waukon - FSA for ARC/PLC program.
January 30 – Deadline for 2012 Livestock Feed Program (LFP) and 2012 Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP).
January 30 – Deadline for the “Early Out” on CRP. Certain criteria must be met to qualify.
February 27 – Deadline for landowners to update yield history and/or reallocate base acres.
March 31 - Producers make a one-time irrevocable election of ARC or PLC for the 2014 through 2018 crop years.
After March 31 – Enrollment into 2014 & 2015 program.
Producers may contact the Allamakee County FSA office at 563-568-2148 for more information or make an appointment.  

Schedule Appointments
With the large workload with the new ARC/PLC program, the Allamakee County FSA Office is requesting producers to call for an appointment. When making an appointment let the employee know if you will be farming the same farms as last year or if there is an addition or loss of a farm.
It is important that the landowner and the operator work together on the updating of the yields on their farms. FSA has not updated yields since 2002; this is the time to update these yields for the future. In addition to the yields, this is the time to reallocate bases. The landowner will be the one filling out this information for his or her farm(s).

Allamakee County FSA Crop Loan Rates for 2014
Corn - $1.87
Barley - $1.72
Oats - $1.43
Soybeans - $4.99
Eligibility for loans is as follows:
• Has the risk in the crop.
• Can be a measured farm loan, certified farm loan or warehouse storage receipts loan.
• All necessary Payment Limitation forms, lien searches have been conducted, and HELC form on file.
Policies:
• Need to notify the Allamakee County FSA Office of plans to sellthe loan crop. Prior authorization from the Allamakee County FSA Office is needed or a penalty will be assessed.
• Subject to spot check during the nine-month loan.
• Check condition of the commodity under loan.
For more information on the loan program, contact the FSA office.

Update Records
The Allamakee County FSA office would like to remind sellers and buyers of land to contact the office when the recorded deed has been filed. If all or part of the land has a CRP contact active there will need to be a succession to the CRP contract. If the buyer does not want to continue the CRP contract, the seller will need to refund all payments received, plus interest. Inquire at the FSA Office on the policies of buying/selling CRP land.

Newsletter Mailing Schedule
Due to budget constraints the Farm Service Agency does not regularly mail newsletters to producers. To receive news from your local FSA Office as well as up-to-the-minute federal farm program information, visit www.fsa.usda.gov/subscribe to subscribe to FSA’s GovDelivery electronic news service. Print copies of electronic newsletters are available at your local FSA office.

ARC/PLC Meetings
The Allamakee County FSA office will be holding meetings on the new ARC/PLC farm programs at the FSA office on the following dates:
January 13 at 1 p.m.
January 15 at 1 p.m.
January 20 at 1 p.m.
January 22 at 1 p.m.
January 27 at 1 p.m.
Limited space is available. Call the FSA office at (563) 568-2148 to reserve a spot for the dates above.
January 29 both the ISU extension and the FSA office will be hosting an ARC/PLC program meeting at Farmer’s and Merchant’s Bank at 1 p.m. Call the extension office to reserve a spot.