Hello Again!
With all the cold, windy, and wet weather we have felt lately it’s hard to believe that April is almost over! Hopefully very soon we will be able to get into the fields to start spring planting! With spring encouraging warmer weather, the folks at FSA have a few reminders and 3 very important deadlines you should be aware of before you get too busy in the fields!
May 31 is the final commodity loan and LDP availability date for 2010 Crop Year Corn, Soybeans and pulse crops. Commodity loans are a good way to generate cash flow while maintaining your crop to sell, feed or deliver at a later date. If you have a commodity loan at your local FSA office, you agreed to be responsible for both quality and quantity of the grain under loan. With warmer weather on the way, now is a good time to keep a close eye on stored grain.
June 1 is the deadline to enroll farms into the Direct & Counter-cyclical Program/ ACRE Program. Time is running out so please make an appointment today to complete your DCP/ACRE contracts. If you have picked up any new farms, you must provide us with cash rent slips from all landowners before signing up into the program. Also, if you are participating in ACRE, remember to turn in your actual production evidence documentation for 2010CY.
June 1 is also the deadline to provide changes to your farm records at the local FSA office for the 2011 crop year. If you are changing your operation entity type, adding or dropping cropland or farms, or adding entities to your operation, contact the FSA county office.
June 15 is the deadline participants in CCC/FSA programs subject to average Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) rules must submit form CCC-927 (Individual) and/or CCC-928 (Legal Entity) to the Internal Revenue Service to avoid interruption of program benefits.
Information exchange
USDA and the IRS have established an electronic information exchange process for verifying compliance with the AGI provisions for farm programs. Written consent is required from each producer or payment recipient for the tax review process. No actual tax data will be included in the report that IRS sends to FSA. Forms may be obtained from local FSA and NRCS offices or online at www.fsa.usda.gov/oh.
June 15 is also the date the County Committee (COC) Election nomination period begins. Farmers and ranchers can begin to nominate eligible peers as candidates to serve on the local FSA County Committee.
Members of socially disadvantaged groups are encouraged to nominate themselves or another eligible candidate. COC members make decisions on applications for federal farm programs and disaster payments.
More information on the COC election process or FSA programs and deadlines is available at your local FSA office or online at www.fsa.usda.gov/oh.
One last reminder – remember to think of farm safety as you begin spring planting. FSA wants all farmers to have a productive crop year, and that begins with putting safety first!
That’s all for now,
FSA Andy
