Hello Again!
Even with all this sunshine and the days getting longer, if you’re anything like me, your list of things that need done probably seems challenging, to say the least.
Even though some corn has emerged, I see there is still a bunch of acres that need attention before we can call planting done! After that, well, then there’s the wheat to harvest, hay to mow and the garden still needs put in. The list seems endless right now and how many hours are in a day?
Save time
Believe me, we understand you can be more than a little busy this time of year. One suggestion to save time with at least some of your spring time chores — make an appointment with FSA for reporting your acres when you are done planting.
To make the best use of your busy time and ours, call your FSA office ahead of your visit to set an appointment and to discuss any records or documentation that you may need to have with you when you arrive for your appointment.
Storage
Now that your planting plans are a little more firm, did you have enough storage space last year for your grain? What about your hay? You know, we do offer low-interest loans with terms of seven, 10 and 12 years to assist with farm storage of saleable commodities.
The intent of these loans are to allow you on-farm storage of your agricultural production, therefore allowing you to pick when market conditions are best for the sale of your crops. The most common structures are grain bins, hay barns and even cold storage for fruits and vegetables. Amounts of up to $500,000 are available and current interest rates range from 1.625% for a seven-year term to 2.0% for the 12-year term.
Now, there are more eligible commodities for farm storage facility loans available. The new commodities eligible for facility loans include; floriculture, hops, rye, milk, cheese, butter, yogurt, meat and poultry (unprocessed), eggs, and aquaculture (excluding systems that maintain live animals through uptake and discharge of water).
Commodities already eligible for the loans include; corn, grain sorghum, soybeans, oats, wheat, barley, minor oil seeds harvested as whole grain, other grains (triticale, spelt, and buckwheat), pulse crops (lentils, chickpeas and dry peas), hay, honey, renewable biomass, and fruits, nuts and vegetables for cold storage facilities. View the FSA Farm Storage Facility Loan fact sheet or visit the FSA county office to learn more about the program.
Another deadline
Speaking of deadlines, if you still have 2015 grain in the bin that is not under contract and need a marketing assistance loan, the last day to apply for the 2015 crop is May 31, with interest rates being 1.625% for this nine-month loan.
Have a safe and blessed day,
FSA Andy
