What's up at the FSA Office?

by Joyce Davidshofer, Allamakee County Executive Director

Reminders
June 15 - August 3: Nominations can be received for the COC elections.
June 15 - September 30: ARC/PLC sign-up for 2014/2015 program.
July 1 - September 30: MPP (Dairy) Progam sign-up
July 15: Deadline to certify all crops and CRP acres for FSA purposes.
August 1: Last day to request a reconstitution for 2015.

Highly Erodible Land Initiative Additional Acres
Iowa has been approved for an additional allocation of Highly Erodible Land Initiative (HELI).
HELI provides an excellent opportunity for producers to enroll their most highly erodible acres and is an avenue for CRP participants to re-enroll expiring acres  if they met the HELI eligibility requirements. CRP acres on an expiring general tree practice are eligible if they meet the CP3 or CP3A standards, per the foresters review or if the cover can be brought up to the standards according to the forestry plan.
The acres being offered will need to have a weighted Erodibility Index (EI) greater than or equal to 20.
Contact the Allamakee County FSA Office as soon as possible if you are interested 563-568-2148. Acre allotments for Iowa are limited.

2015 Crop Certification
Currently the county office is certifying crops. The deadline to certify is July 15. After July 15, it will cost $46 per farm to late file  certification. CRP, ARC/PLC and other programs require crop certification before any payments will be issued in the programs. If you have any questions give the Allamakee County FSA Office a call  at 563-568-2148.

2014/2015 ARC/PLC Program Sign-up
The ARC/PLC program software is now available to sign up for 2014 and/or 2015 program years. The sign-up period is June 15 - September 30.
Around June 15, the FSA issued ARC/PLC notifications of bases, yields and the election chosen for the farm. These notifications were sent to farm operator, owners, and other producers of record on the farm.

2016 Margin Protection Program (MPP) for Dairy
The Margin Protection Program (MPP) sign-up began July 1. The Allamakee County FSA Office will be accepting applications for the program after July 15 because the required software is not available at this time.
As a reminder, once producers who signed up for the 2015 MPP program year based on MPP regulations are required to sign up for the years 2016-2018.
Each year dairy producer will received a bump in their pounds from the previous year. The coverage election will need to be completed each year also. For example: 2015 year a producer elected to go $5.00 at 65% for $100 fee and a premium amount. In 2016 the producer chooses to go $4.00 @ 90% for $100. This is one example of what dairy producers can do in the coming years. If you have any questions in regards to this program, or if you operate a new dairy, contact the county office.

2015 Allamakee County Committee Elections
The nomination period began June 15 and ends August 3. Request nomination forms from the Allamakee County FSA Office or obtain a nomination form online at http://www.fsa.usda.gov/elections. The townships involved for the elections are:  Iowa, Lansing, Center, La Fayette, Paint Creek and Taylor.