Hello again!
June! July! August! The calendar has ‘flipped’ by quickly, with the passing of summer all but a memory. A short time still remains for you to make a memory and do something exciting.
We still have several county fairs coming up to provide you with the chance to check out local agriculture and taste that fair food. With Labor Day weekend fast approaching maybe you have a family picnic or outing on your agenda.
I know the children can’t wait to get back to school and get into a set routine. Oh wait, maybe that’s the parents more than the children. I know some teachers who are asking where their summer vacations went.
Dry season
Summer 2012 found local producers praying for rain so their crops would grow. The rains did finally come, which helped some crops, but for others it was too late.
Soon producers will be heading to the field to harvest what they can to help get them through another year. If you find your cash flow needs a boost and your crops did mature so you could harvest them as grain, a Marketing Assistance Loan at your local Farm Service Agency may be the answer.
A Marketing Assistance Loan is available for producers who share in the risk of producing the crop. To be eligible, a producer must maintain continual beneficial interest in the crop from harvest through the earlier of the date the loan is repaid, or CCC takes title to the commodity.
Explanation
Beneficial interest means retaining the ability to make decisions about the commodity; responsibility for loss or damage to the commodity; and title to the commodity. Once beneficial interest in a commodity is lost, the commodity is ineligible for loan — even if the producer regains beneficial interest.
For commodities to be eligible they must have been produced by an eligible producer, be in existence and in a storable condition and be merchantable for food, feed or other uses as determined by CCC. The quality of the commodity in farm storage must be maintained throughout the term of the loan.
A Marketing Assistance Loan is a nine-month loan at a low interest rate for a commodity that is harvested and stored on the farm or in a warehouse. The loan may be repaid at anytime during the nine-month period.
There are provisions in the MAL program for producers who must feed the commodity or will be moving the commodity for sale during the loan term. The loan process is very simple and painless. A phone call or visit to your local FSA office is all that is needed to file a loan request or get your questions answered.
Reminder
Carroll and Perry county producers: Landowners and farm producers in the counties of Carroll and Perry who are facing the closing of their local FSA office can still request a transfer of their land/operation to a county different than the one designated.
For Carroll County producers all program work will be transferred to the Tuscarawas County office and for Perry County producers it will be the Fairfield County office. Call your local FSA office to request the Farm Transfer form to begin the process or if you have any questions.
The farmer is the only man in our economy who buys everything at retail, sells everything at wholesale, and pays the freight both ways.
— John F. Kennedy
That’s all for now,
FSA Andy
