Hello again!
It’s all in the timing, and this year, with a co-operative planting season to date, there seems to be a cautious optimism for a successful season.
With ground temperatures having moved into the ideal range for planting and moisture at acceptable levels, activity in the fields is readily apparent.
With this window of good weather, most producers will get their crops in. Though, as we all know, as we move out of the spring season and into the early summer season, the planting window seems to close at an increasingly faster pace, and who knows if the weather will hold.
Knowing it often takes 110 days or more for corn to mature, and soybeans can be up to 90 to maturity, there is still some flexibility in planting plans if needed.
Final planting
In Ohio, the final planting date for corn is June 5 and for soybeans it is June 20. If by chance the weather takes an ugly turn and you are prevented from planting due to weather conditions, contact your crop insurance agent and your local FSA office within 15 calendar days of the final planting date to report these acres.
The importance of reporting prevented planting acres should not be overlooked. Reporting both prevented planted and failed acres allows for historical yields to be maintained for crop insurance, FSA programs such as DCP and ACRE, and allows participation in potential disaster relief programs which may be approved by Congress in the future.
It is recommended for all producers who have prevented planted acres to check with their crop insurance agent before reporting these acres to the FSA to ensure the accuracy of the report, as requirements for historical planting differs between crop insurance and the USDA.
Conservation program
If you are a landowner or producer and are interested in putting fallow farmland into conservation practices, the USDA is conducting a four-week general sign-up for the Conservation Reserve Program, which began May 20 and ends June 14.
CRP protects the nation’s natural resources through voluntary participation. Producers/landowners that are accepted in the sign-up can receive cost-share assistance to plant long-term, resource-conserving covers and receive an annual rental payment for the length of the contract (10-15 years).
Owners/producers with expiring CRP contracts or those with environmentally sensitive land are encouraged to evaluate their options under CRP. Contact your local FSA office for more information.
Do you have pasture land? Do you consider it permanent? If so you might be interested in the Grassland Reserve Program.
The purpose of GRP is to assist landowners and operators to protect grazing uses and related conservation values by conserving and restoring grassland resources on eligible private lands.
Deadline
Both NRCS and FSA accept applications on a continuous basis, however, ranking dates are established to evaluate and select applications for current year funding. To be considered this year, applications must be submitted by June 3. Applications received after that will be retained until the next ranking period.
Preference will be given to:
• Working grazing operations with an approved grazing plan.
• Land that has been historically dominated by grassland and provides habitat for animal or plant populations of significant ecological value.
• Land which contains historical or archeological resources.
• Land expiring from the Conservation Reserve Program Sept. 30.
Either owners or operators may voluntarily apply for GRP rental contracts as long as the operator can provide proper documents to show control of rental acres during the entire contract period.
Rental contracts may be either 10, 15 or 20 years in duration. Annual rental payments vary by county and range from $10 to $16.50 per acre enrolled. Contact your local FSA office for more information on these programs or any others that you have questions about.
That’s all for now,
FSA Andy
