SPECIAL ACCOMODATIONS Special accommodations will be made, upon request, for individuals with disabilities, vision impairment, or hearing impairment.  If special accommodations are required, please call the FSA office and we will be happy to make any arrangements that are needed.  FOREIGN INVESTORS 90-DAY REPORTING RULE Foreign owners of U.S. agricultural land are required by law to report their land holdings, acquisitions, leases of 10 years or more, and land use changes within 90 days to the local FSA office. Failure to report these changes can result in a civil penalty of up to 25% of the fair market value of their interest in the agricultural land.  SIGNATURE AUTHORITY FOR SPOUSES Spouses can sign FSA program documents on behalf of each other for most FSA farm programs in which either has an interest, without signing any special forms.  This signature authority for spouses to sign for each other will be in effect unless notification denying either spouse this authority has been provided to FSA.  POWER OF ATTORNEY For those who find it difficult to visit the office personally because of various reasons such as work schedules, distance, health, etc., we have a Power of Attorney form available, which enables you to designate another person to conduct your business at the office. If you are interested, please contact our office or any FSA office near you for more information.  If you want a crop loan, a Power of Attorney form will need to be completed for husband and wife, if both do not come into the office to sign the forms on the day the loan is disbursed. Farmers with power of attorney forms on file prior to the signing of the new 2002 farm bill will likely need to have a new power of attorney form completed if you haven't done so by now.  A new form has been created to specifically address the programs of the new farm bill. FAX USERS Recent changes will now allow a facsimile signature to be deemed an original signature for most programs with FSA.  However, in order to take advantage of the option to fax signatures to us, you must sign form (FSA-237) in the county office in advance.

LEASED EQUIPMENT

For equipment that is leased from an individual, joint operation or entity that has interest in the farming operation, payment must be made by the agreement due date, or if not specified by contract, by the *31^st of December of the applicable crop year.

* or date established by COC if more restrictive

PAYMENT LIMITATION

Determinations: 

Producers are reminded that no program benefits will be made until the FSA office has made all the necessary payment limitation and eligibility determinations. Producers will remain ineligible until all the required forms that include information pertaining to their farming operations are provided to the office. The FSA County Committee or the producer may initiate the payment limitation and payment eligibility determinations.  If the producer requests the determination, the request may be filed anytime before the final date for submitting form CCC-502 (Farm Operating Plan for Payment Eligibility Review).  

Programs and Payment Limits

The following FSA programs are subject to payment limitation and eligibility provisions.  Listed after each program is the applicable payment limitation for 2005.

DCP/Direct Payment:   $40,000

DCP/Counter-Cyclical Payment - $65,000

LDP's and Market Gains:  $75,000

Conservation Reserve Program(CRP) - $50,000

Emergency Conservation Program(ECP) -  $200,000

Noninsured Assistance Program (NAP) -  $100,000 

Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) - There is no payment limitation for MILC. These payments are limited to 2.4 million pounds of production per year.

PROVIDING INFORMATION

Statutory provisions require that all entities, individuals, partnerships, joint operations, corporations, trusts, etc. - - provide the names, addresses and ID numbers of the entity’s members to the FSA County Committee.  Also, entities must inform their members of the requirement for designating “permitted entities” for payment purposes.  Spouses may be considered separate “persons” for payment limitation purposes if this determination is requested and all the applicable requirements to be determined a “person” are met.

RECORD CHANGES If you have bought, sold or are renting different land, make sure you report the changes to the FSA office as soon as possible after they occur.  For farm ownership changes you will need to provide a recorded deed or recorded land contract.  Failure to maintain accurate records with FSA on all land you have an interest in can lead to possible program ineligibility and fines if you are participating in our program.  CONSERVATION COMPLIANCE All participants in USDA programs are required to have a conservation system in place on all the highly erodible land (HEL) that they operate.  Several areas where problems can arise with complying with a conservation system are; renting new cropland, purchasing new land, breaking out additional cropland, planting different crops such as soybeans, and changing or removing existing conservation practices. It is very important that you contact the FSA office BEFORE doing any of the above.  Also, it is very important that you contact our office before modifying - tiling, draining, dredging, filling or leveling - any wetland or drainage ditch.   Failure to obtain advance approval for any of these situations can result in loss of all Federal payments and eligibility. DIRECT DEPOSIT As of January 1, 1999, all payments issued by the county FSA office will be by direct deposit (electronic funds transfer) to a pre-designated checking or savings account with your financial institution.  Forms are available at the FSA office to sign up for direct deposit if you haven’t yet.  For those already signed up, it is extremely important that we are notified anytime there is a change in the your account number or financial institution.  If we aren’t notified, future payments can be delayed or lost for a period of time. CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE Any person who is convicted under federal or state law of a controlled substance violation could be ineligible for USDA payments or benefits.  Violations include planting, harvesting, distributing or growing a prohibited plant.  Prohibited plants include marijuana, opium poppies and other drug producing plants.

SPOT CHECKS BY FSA

All CCC-501’s (Members Information), and CCC-502’s (Farm Operating Plan for Payment Eligibility Review), are subject to spot check through our end-of-year review process.   If selected for a spot check, producers will be required to submit proof of their contribution to the operation such as: seed, fertilizer and chemical bills, land lease agreements, land contracts or property tax payments, equipment lists, cancelled checks for paid labor or hired management, and any other items the FSA County Committee deems necessary.

Reporting Farm Operation Information: 

It is the producer’s responsibility to report their farm operation completely and accurately. 

Reporting Farm Operation Changes: 

It is also the producer’s responsibility to notify FSA of ANY changes in their farming operation or entity status throughout the year. Changes that may affect a determination include, but are not limited to: a change in contract shares of a contract which may reflect change of land lease from cash rent to share rent or from share rent to cash rent; modification of a variable/fixed bushel rent arrangement; a change in the size of the producer's farming operation by the addition or deletion of a farm; a change in the structure of the farming operation, including any change in the member's shares; a change in the contributions of farm inputs of capital, equipment, active personal labor, or active personal management; and a change of farming interest not previously disclosed on CCC-502 or update, including the farming interests of a spouse or minor child.

Not-Actively Engaged Determinations:

Any producers who are determined as “Not Actively Engaged in Farming” may be ineligible for USDA payments under some programs. This includes DCP, gains from marketing loans and loan deficiency payments (LDP’s), CRP annual rental payments, disaster assistance or emergency payments, and any payment or benefit requiring a determination of “actively engaged in farming”.

Questions and/or requests for additional information pertaining to determinations for payment limitation and payment eligibility should be directed to the FSA office.