What's Up at the FSA Office?
by Jeremy Leitz, Allamakee County Executive Director (563) 568-2148
Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
August 23: CRP Continuous Signup 52
September 20: Dairy Margin Coverage Program Sign-Up
December 6: Market Facilitation Program
USDA Opens Signup for Market Facilitation Program
Signup opened for the Market Facilitation Program (MFP), a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) program to assist farmers who continue to suffer from damages because of unjustified trade retaliation from foreign nations. Through MFP, USDA will provide up to $14.5 billion in direct payments to impacted producers, part of a broader trade relief package announced in late July. The sign-up period runs through December 6.
MFP payments will be made to producers of certain non-specialty and specialty crops as well as dairy and hog producers.
Non-Specialty Crops
MFP payments will be made to producers of alfalfa hay, barley, canola, corn, crambe, dried beans, dry peas, extra-long staple cotton, flaxseed, lentils, long grain and medium grain rice, millet, mustard seed, oats, peanuts, rapeseed, rye, safflower, sesame seed, small and large chickpeas, sorghum, soybeans, sunflower seed, temperate japonica rice, triticale, upland cotton, and wheat.
MFP assistance for 2019 crops is based on a single county payment rate multiplied by a farm’s total plantings to the MFP-eligible crops in aggregate in 2019. Those per acre payments are not dependent on which of those crops are planted in 2019. A producer’s total payment-eligible plantings cannot exceed total 2018 plantings. To view payments by county, visit https://www.fsa.usda.gov/programs-and-services/market-facilitation-progr....
Dairy and Hogs
Dairy producers who were in business as of June 1, 2019, will receive a per hundredweight payment on production history, and hog producers will receive a payment based on the number of live hogs owned on a day selected by the producer between April 1 and May 15, 2019.
Specialty Crops
MFP payments will also be made to producers of almonds, cranberries, cultivated ginseng, fresh grapes, fresh sweet cherries, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, pistachios, and walnuts. Each specialty crop will receive a payment based on 2019 acres of fruit or nut bearing plants, or in the case of ginseng, based on harvested acres in 2019.
More Information
Payments will be made in up to three tranches, with the second and third tranches evaluated as market conditions and trade opportunities dictate. If conditions warrant, the second and third tranches will be made in November and early January.
MFP payments are limited to a combined $250,000 for non-specialty crops per person or legal entity. MFP payments are also limited to a combined $250,000 for dairy and hog producers and a combined $250,000 for specialty crop producers. However, no applicant can receive more than $500,000. Eligible applicants must also have an average adjusted gross income (AGI) for tax years 2015, 2016, and 2017 of less than $900,000, or 75 percent of the person’s or legal entity’s average AGI for those tax years must have been derived from farming and ranching. Applicants must also comply with the provisions of the Highly Erodible Land and Wetland Conservation regulations.
More information can be found on farmers.gov/mfp, incliuding payment information and a program application.
Dairy Margin Coverage
Sign-up for new Dairy Margin Coverage program began June 17 and runs through September 20, 2019. Coverage is retroactive to January.
Coverage levels range from $4 to $9.50 per cwt, in $0.50 increments. Coverage percentage of the dairy operation’s production history ranges from 5 percent to 95 percent, in 5 percent increments. You have the option to receive a 25% discount on your annual premiums if you lock in for five years. You cannot change your coverage if you lock in.
The Farm Bill also allows producers who participated in MPP-Dairy from 2014-2017 to receive a repayment or credit for part of the premiums paid into the program. Producers that elect the premium reimbursement will have that 75% credit applied to their 2019 DMC premiums.
Eligible dairy operations must have a production history determined by FSA. For most operations, production history is based on the highest milk production in 2011, 2012 and 2013. Newer dairy operations have other options for determining production history. Producers may contact their local FSA office to get their verified production history.
FSA and the University of Wisconsin partnered on the development of a DMC decision support tool that helps producers determine the level of coverage under a variety of conditions that will provide them with the strongest coverage. Access the tool at https://dairymarkets.org/MPP.
