What's Up at the FSA Office?

by Jeremy Leitz, Allamakee County Executive Director (563) 568-2148

Upcoming Deadlines and Important Dates
• May 15-August 2: Primary Nesting Season. No MCM Activities on CRP Acres
• May 31: Marketing Assistance Loans for Prior Year Harvested Corn and Soybeans
• May 31: Final Planting Date for Corn
• June 1: Margin Protection Program (MPP) Signup
• June 15: Final Planting Date for Soybeans
• July 15: 2018 Crop Reports
• August 1: ARC/PLC Sign-up

Secretary Perdue Names FSA Administrator
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced today the appointment of Richard Fordyce to serve as Administrator of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA). In his role, Fordyce will provide leadership for FSA and its mission to support agricultural production across America through a network of over 2,100 county and 50 state offices.

Richard Fordyce, a fourth-generation farmer, most recently served as State Executive Director for FSA in Missouri. Prior to his appointment by the Trump Administration, Fordyce served as the director of the Missouri Department of Agriculture from 2013 to 2017. In 2015, Fordyce was awarded the Missouri Farm Bureau Distinguished Service Award and the Agricultural Leaders of Tomorrow Alumnus of the Year. He and his wife, Renee, have two children and grow soybeans, corn and beef cattle on the family farm.

Crop Reporting
To remain eligible for programs administered by FSA and other USDA agencies, Allamakee county farmers are reminded to submit an acreage report to account for all cropland on all farms.  All 2018 crops must be certified by filing a Report of Commodities, form FSA-578, by July 15, 2018. 

You will also need to provide planting dates, type and variety of crop, and accurate acreages.  It is the producer’s responsibility to ensure accurate reporting.  Discrepancies found later may affect eligibility for all FSA administered programs. 
 
FSA accepted all 2018 grass and forage certifications last fall, and if you missed that deadline you will be asked to pay a $31 fee per farm.  You will need to stop in again by December 15, 2018 to report the grasses and forages you intend to keep over the next winter and will utilize for the 2019 crop year.

Crop reports filed after July 15, 2018 will be charged a measurement service fee of $46 per farm. FSA must perform an on-farm inspection of these acres to verify crops certified after the reporting deadline.

Revisions to crop reports made after the reporting deadline will be assessed a $46 measurement service fee per FSA farm number. Please review your crop reports prior to this date to ensure that crops, planting dates, intended uses, acres and shares are correct. FSA is required to visit every farm that submits a revision to a crop report after July 15, 2018.

County Office Committees
County committees play a vital role in the administration of federal farm programs, and members come from one of three pre-determined local administrative areas (LAAs).  These areas are determined by many factors but include population, fair representation, and types of farming.

Elections are held each year on a rotational basis.  This year the election will occur in LAA3 which includes Iowa, Lansing, Center, LaFayette, Paint Creek, and Taylor townships.  To be eligible to serve you must participate or cooperate in a FSA program, be eligible to vote, and live in the LAA where you are nominated. 

The nomination period will start June 15 and producers can nominate themselves or others.  If you would like to run, or are nominated and agree to run, you will need to complete form FSA-669A, which you can pick up at our office or online at fsa.usda.gov/elections.  All nominations must be postmarked or received in our office by August 1.

Election ballots are then mailed to eligible voters in the electing LAA beginning November 5 and are due back no later than December 3.  All newly elected members take office January 1, and serve for three years, with a maximum of three terms.  So if you reside in LAA-3, and would like to run, stop in after June 15 to pick up the nomination form and return it to us by August 1.