What's Up at the FSA Office?

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

Upcoming Deadlines and Important Dates
• February 14: Last day to apply for the Market Facilitation Program
• February 18: Office closed in observance of Washington’s Birthday

USDA Market Facilitation Program
The last day to stop in and sign the Market Facilitation Program (MFP) application is tomorrow, February 14. You don’t need to certify production at that time, but if you don’t sign the application by February 14 you will not be eligible for MFP payments. Once you sign the application, you have until May 1 to prove production. 

Facility Loan Interest Rates
The interest rates for February are as follows:
• 2.500% for 3 years
• 2.500% for 5 years
• 2.625% for 7 years
• 2.750% for 10 years
• 2.750% for 12 years
• 2.875% for 15 years

Maintaining the Quality of Farm-Stored Loan Grain
Bins are ideally designed to hold a level volume of grain. When bins are overfilled and grain is heaped up, airflow is hindered and the chance of spoilage increases.

Producers who take out marketing assistance loans and use the farm-stored grain as collateral should remember that they are responsible for maintaining the quality of the grain through the term of the loan.

Unauthorized Disposition of Grain
If loan grain has been disposed of through feeding, selling or any other form of disposal without prior written authorization from the county office staff, it is considered unauthorized disposition. The financial penalties for unauthorized dispositions are severe and a producer’s name will be placed on a loan violation list for a two-year period.  Always call before you haul any grain under loan.

Storage and Handling Trucks Eligible for Farm Storage Facility Loans
Farm Storage Facility Loans (FSFL) provide low-interest financing so producers can build or upgrade facilities to store commodities. Some storage and handling trucks are eligible for the FSFL. These include:
Cold Storage Trucks - A van or truck designed to carry perishable freight at specific temperatures. Cold storage trucks can be ice-cooled or equipped with any variety of mechanical refrigeration systems.
Flatbed Trucks - Truck with an open body in the form of a platform with no side walls for easy loading and unloading. These trucks can be categorized into different sizes which range from light, medium, or heavy duty, compact or full-size, or short and expandable beds.
Grain Trucks - A piece of farm equipment specially made to accommodate grain products and are traditionally truck chassis units with a mounted grain “dump” body where grain commodities are transported from a field to either a grain elevator or a storage bin.
Storage Trucks with a Chassis Unit - Commonly referred to as a box truck, box van or straight truck, is a truck with a cargo body mounted on the same chassis with the engine and cab.

To be eligible for FSFL, the storage and handling truck must be less than 15 years old and have a maximum of four axles with a gross weight rating of 60,000 pounds or less. Pick-up trucks, semi-trucks, dump trucks, and simple insulated and ventilated vans are ineligible for FSFL.

FSFL for storage and handling trucks must be $100,000 or less. FSFL-financed storage and handling trucks must be used for the purpose for which they were acquired for the entire FSFL term.

Eligible commodities include grains, oilseeds, pulse crops, hay, honey, renewable biomass commodities, fruits and vegetables, floriculture, hops, maple sap, milk, cheese, yogurt, butter, eggs, meat/poultry (unprocessed), rye and aquaculture.