Farm Service Agency shares program announcements, reminders

(NAP) Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program

FSA wants to remind producers that Monday, October 1st is the deadline to obtain crop year 2019 NAP coverage for crops such as wheat and barley for forage.  Monday December 3, is the deadline to obtain crop year 2019 NAP coverage for perennial crops intended for forage and grazing. These crop include alfalfa, grass, mixed forages, clover and honey.

The acreage reporting deadline for crop year 2019 fall seeded and perennial crops is Thursday November 15. The FSA staff strongly encourages producers to obtain their 2019 coverage prior to the November 15th deadline to avoid any late file acreage reporting fees. 

Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) provides financial assistance to producers of noninsurable crops when low yields, loss of inventory or prevented planting occur due to natural disasters. An eligible producer is a landowner, tenant or sharecropper who shares in the risk of producing an eligible crop. The service fee is the lesser of $250 per crop or $750 per producer per administrative county, not to exceed a total of $1,875 for a producer with farming interests in multiple counties. This fee is authorized by the 2008 Act. Limited resource producers and Socially Disadvantaged producers may request a waiver of service fees.

To qualify for an administrative service fee waiver, the producer must meet both of the following criteria: earn no more than $100,000 (2004) gross income in farm sales from each of the previous two years (to be increased starting in FY 2004 to adjust for inflation, using the prices paid by farmers index as compiled by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS); have a total household income at or below the national poverty level for a family of four, or less than 50 percent of county median household for both of the previous two years or be a member of a group that has been subject to ethnic, gender, or racial prejudice. 

The 2014 Farm Bill has also made available ‘Buy-Up’ options for NAP crop coverage for those crops intended for harvest. Buy-Up coverage is not available for grazing practices. Contact your respective FSA County Office for more information regarding buy-up coverage.

(ARC-PLC) Agricultural Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage Program

Friday September 28, is the deadline for agricultural producers to enroll their farms having crop base acres into the 2018 Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) program. All signatures must be obtained and submitted to your respective county office by this date to be considered timely. If you have any questions regarding your farms enrollment, please contact your respective county office.

Disaster Set-Aside (DSA) Program

FSA borrowers with farms located in designated primary or contiguous disaster areas who are unable to make their scheduled FSA loan payments should consider the Disaster Set-Aside (DSA) program.

DSA is available to producers who suffered losses as a result of a natural disaster and is intended to relieve immediate and temporary financial stress. FSA is authorized to consider setting aside the portion of a payment/s needed for the operation to continue on a viable scale. Borrowers must have at least two years left on the term of their loan in order to qualify.

Borrowers have eight months from the date of the disaster designation to submit a complete application. The application must include a written request for DSA signed by all parties liable for the debt along with production records and financial history for the operating year in which the disaster occurred. FSA may request additional information from the borrower in order to determine eligibility.

All farm loans must be current or less than 90 days past due at the time the DSA application is complete. Borrowers may not set aside more than one installment on each loan.  The amount set-aside, including interest accrued on the principal portion of the set-aside, is due on or before the final due date of the loan.  For more information, contact your local FSA farm loan office.

If any questions, FSA may be contacted by calling 719-672-3314 option 2 for Costilla County, 719-589-5661 option 2 for Alamosa & Conejos Counties or 719-754-3400 option 2 for Saguache, Rio Grande, Mineral & Hinsdale Counties.