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JANUARY 2005 FSA NEWSLETTER ARTICLES Financial Inquiries Now Online Non-Insured Assistance Program (NAP) Deadlines Ewe Lamb Program Deadline Approaches LDP & Loan Deadline Approaching Planting Date Required For Acreage Reporting In 2005 Farm Loan Programs 2005 Funds Available Adjusted Gross Income Provisions Continuous Conservation Reserve Program SIGNUP FOR THE 2005 DCP PROGRAM Are you planning to participate in the 2005 Direct and Counter-Cyclical Program (DCP)? Would you like to make fewer trips to the FSA office? Conduct FSA business from the comfort of your own home, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. FSA now offers safe, secure, and convenient online services for many of our programs including DCP. Differing from Production Flexibility Contracts in the 1996 Farm Bill, the DCP program, part of the 2002 Farm Bill requires producers to signup annually. The deadline to sign 2005 contracts is June 1. By signing a DCP contract, you are agreeing to the following:
If you would like to signup for 2005 DCP, or take advantage of our new online services, contact your local county office for more details. We will still be happy to see you if you wish to do your FSA business in person. But if you would like to save an annual trip to the office for DCP signup, we are pleased to offer you this secure and convenient service. FINANCIAL INQUIRIES NOW ONLINE A Financial Inquires Web Site is now available for your convenience that allows you instant access to detailed financial information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. To access the web site, you must register through USDA’s eAuthentication registration process to create a Level 2 Account by going to www.eauth.egov.usda.gov or, if you’re comfortable surfing the Internet, go to www.fsa.usda.gov and click any link to online services then follow the instructions to create an account with user ID and password. · You’ll receive an e-mail providing instructions needed to activate your account within seven days. · You will then need to visit your local county office to validate your account. Once level 2 access is obtained, you will have instant access to both summary and detailed financial information such as payments, collections, debt, and CCC-1099-G data, Report of Payments to Producers. If you have already completed the eAuthentication registration process to gain access to any of USDA’s online services, you do not have to complete the process again and can access the Financial Inquires Web Site immediately. NON-INSURED ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (NAP) DEADLINES Crop insurance closing dates are quickly approaching for spring seeded crops. The deadline to purchase coverage for these crops is March 15. Keep in mind that non-insurable crops like squash, pumpkins, peppers, lettuce, and other crops that are not covered by Federal Crop Insurance policies are now eligible for risk protection under NAP. This program resembles crop insurance since it was designed to reduce financial losses resulting from weather-related crop disasters. A payment is issued to you if your NAP covered crop experiences losses exceeding 50% of your expected yield. NAP yields are based on your actual historical production. The payment rate for NAP is based on 55% of the crop’s established market price. The cost is $100/crop/producer with a $300 cap per county. Upcoming NAP deadlines: February 1 - Deadline to provide report of harvested maple sap production for 2004 and to provide an acreage report for the 2005 maple sap crop March 15 - Deadline to obtain 2005 NAP policies on spring seeded non-insurable crops EWE LAMB PROGRAM DEADLINE APPROACHES Signup for the new Ewe Lamb Replacement and Retention Program (ELRRP) is now underway at Farm Service Agency offices. The ELRRP will pay producers a maximum of $18 per head for ewe lambs purchased or retained for breeding stock between Aug. 1, 2003, and July 31, 2004. Funding for this program is limited to $18 million, so the $18 payment rate is subject to available funding. To qualify for the program, producers must retain qualifying ewe lambs for at least one complete offspring lambing cycle and can not have received funds under the Lamb Meat Adjustment Assistance Program. Producers should keep records such as sale receipts as proof of purchase and retention, farm management records, veterinarian certifications as proof of ewe lamb characteristics and scrapie program forms. Documentation must disclose the dates of lamb purchase, birth and death, if applicable; lamb identification and control information; the number of ewe lambs purchased; and identification with Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) approved scrapie program, if applicable. Signup for ELRRP began October 25, and is tentatively scheduled to end January 7, 2005. Interested sheep producers should contact their county FSA office to complete an application or for more information. LDP & LOAN DEADLINE APPROACHING The deadline to put wheat, small grains, and honey under a 9-month loan or apply for aloan deficiency payment (LDP) is March 31, 2005. The deadline to apply for loans and LDPs for unshorn pelts, wool and mohair is January 31, 2005. The LDP payment rate is currently zero for the small grains and wheat crops. A marketing assistance loan provides the advantage of a low interest rate and the advantages of repayment options. Repayment is usually made at the loan rate plus interest. However,if daily prices drop below the loan rate for wheat or small grains any time throughout the 9-month loan period, the repayments may be made at the lower posted county price withoutinterest, which is considered a market gain. All producers are eligible to apply to put their stored crops under loan or request LDP's. NOTE: The last day to request a 9-month loan or LDP on your 2004 corn or soybean crops is May 31, 2005. PLANTING DATE REQUIRED FOR ACREAGE REPORTING IN 2005 Producers will need to report the planting date of their crops for the first time during 2005 FSA acreage reporting. The planting date will be used by FSA and crop insurance to estimate crop yield and for other program purposes. The requirement to report the planting date only covers crops planted in 2005 and not crops planted in prior years such as alfalfa or CRP practices. Acreage reports are required for program eligibility and mandatory for producers who participate in the FSA programs such as the Direct and Counter-Cyclical Program (DCP), 10–15 year Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), and the Non-insured Assistance Program (NAP). For additional information contact your local FSA office. FARM LOAN PROGRAMS 2005 FUNDS AVAILABLE We have received our funding for 2005! Each year Congress appropriates money for FSA farm loans as part of the USDA budget. The funds are appropriated for the Government’s fiscal year, which runs from October 1 until September 30 of the following year. The amount of money appropriated by Congress does not always meet the demand for loan funds, so don’t delay. Contact your local FSA office to find out which of our Farm Loan Programs is right for you! Available loan programs include: o Emergency (EM) loan funds available to help eligible applicants who have suffered qualifying production and/or physical losses due to recently declared disasters o Direct Operating loans for the purpose of purchasing or refinancing livestock, machinery and equipment o Farm Ownership loans for the purchase or improvement of real estate o Youth loans, available to rural youth between the ages of 10 and 20 up to $5,000 We also have special funds designated for Beginning Farmers and Socially Disadvantaged groups that include women, African Americans, American Indians, Alaskan Natives, Hispanics, Asians and Pacific Islanders. YEAR END REVIEWSProducers that have a farm loan with FSA are reminded they must provide data for their Year-End Analysis (YEA) to their loan officer each year. Borrowers are urged to provide this information timely so that their files can be maintained. Attention National Guard, reservist and regular military FSA borrowers called to active duty. On October 28, 2004, the President signed into law the Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 (the Act). Per the act, if you are an FSA Farm Loan Programs borrower and have been called to active duty, interest will not accrue and payment will not be required on your Farm Service Agency farm loan while the U.S, is at war or during a national emergency as declared by the President or Congress. Principal payments due during or after active duty will be deferred for the length of time you are on active duty. The deferral and non-accrual status will end on the earlier of when your active duty ends or the war or national emergency is concluded. FSA is committed to providing service to assist our borrowers who are impacted by military deployment. It will be your responsibility to keep FSA apprised of your current duty status so your account can be updated in a timely manner once you are relieved from active duty or the national emergency has ended. Provisions of the Service Members Act also affect Guaranteed Lenders with borrowers called to active military duty. An FSA guaranteed loan incurred by a guaranteed borrower covered by the Service Members Act, shall not bear an interest rate in excess of 6 percent when the borrower is called to report for induction for military service and during the period of active military service. For further information, contact your local FSA office. NOTE: National Guard members must be on duty at least 30 calendar days to be considered on “active duty”. ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME PROVISIONS Adjusted gross income” (AGI) limitationsbecame effective starting in the 2003 crop year. This limitation states an individual or entity shall not be eligible to receive certain benefits if the individual or entity’s AGI exceeds $2.5 million and less than 75 percent of the gross income is derived from farming, ranching or forestry operations. AGI is required for DCP, conservation programs, LDPs marketing loan gains and other programs as applicable. AGI takes into account income from the three years immediately proceeding the year for which benefits are requested. Each individual must complete the AGI form. For an entity, both the entity and the individuals in the entity must complete the form. Failure to complete the form will result in payment ineligibility. CONTINUOUS CONSERVATION RESERVE PROGRAM Environmentally desirable land devoted to certain conservation practices may be enrolled in CRP at any time under continuous sign up provisions. Offers are automatically accepted provided the land and producer meet certain eligibility requirements. To be eligible, cropland must have been planted or considered planted to an agricultural commodity four of the six crop years between 1996 and 2001, and is physically and legally capable of being planted to an agricultural commodity. Also, certain marginal pastureland is eligible for enrollment as a riparian buffer. Eligible conservation practices for the CRP continuous sign up include: riparian buffers; wildlife habitat buffers; wetland buffers; filter strips; wetland restoration; grass waterways; shelterbelts; living snow fences; contour grass strips; and shallow water areas for wildlife. The Agricultural Risk Protection Act requires FSA to assist the Risk Management Agency (RMA) in improving the integrity of the crop insurance program. We have been asked to monitor the program, report problems to RMA and assist RMA and insurance providers when auditing certain claims. FSA will refer all suspected cases of fraud, waste and abuse to RMA. You are encouraged to report suspected cases of fraud or abuse to your local FSA office. WANT TO BE ADDED TO OR REMOVED FROM OUR MAILLING LIST If you would like to be added to our mailing list or if at anytime you wish to be removed from our mailing list, give us a call and we will gladly add or remove your name.
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