By Eads USDA Service Center Staff

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:

• County Committee Meeting - 2^nd Tuesday each month.
• March 15^th – 2017 NAP application date for Spring Crops
• March 15^th – July 15^th -  CRP Primary Nesting Season – NO Activity permitted on CRP
• March 31^st - Last day to request LDP or Marketing Loan for 2016 wheat.
• CRP Continuous Signup - Lesser Prairie Chicken, CRP Grassland and HELI (Highly Erodible Land Initiative) acre available.  Producers interested are urged to contact FSA Office.   

Disclaimer:  Information in this UPDATE is pertinent to Kiowa County FSA only.  Producers reading this and that do not have FSA interest in Kiowa County are advised to contact their local FSA Office.

FARM LOAN OFFICE SCHEDULE

Farm Loan officer, Mary Rhoades will resume her monthly visit to the Eads Service Center.  She will be in the office on the 2^nd Tuesday of each month.  Please call the Lamar office @ 719-336-3437 to schedule an appointment with Mary while she is in Eads. 

CRP CONTRACT MANAGEMENT

The CRP primary nesting season begins March 15^th and ends July 15^th.  During those three months there can be NO activity on enrolled CRP acres (exception CRP grasslands). Producers needing to complete their required contract management will need to have it completed by March 15^th or will be required to wait until July 15^th to begin activity again.  The first routine grazing period will begin July 16^th through September 16^th.  Producers wishing to utilize the grazing option for contract management will need to have the grazing plan in place prior to July 16^th. 

ASKFSA

Are you looking for answers to your FSA questions?  Then ASK FSA at askfsa.custhelp.com.

AskFSA is on online resource that helps you easily find information and answers to your FSA questions no matter where you are or what device you use.  It is for ALL customers, including underserved farmers and ranchers who wish to be enrolled in FSA loans, farm and conservation programs. 

Through AskFSA you can:

• Access our knowledge base 24/7.
• Receive answers to your questions faster
• Submit a question and receive a timely response from an FSA expert
• Get notifications when answers important to you and your farming operation are updated
• Customize your account settings and view responses at any time

Farm Reconstitutions

When changes in farm ownership or operation take place, a farm reconstitution is necessary. The reconstitution — or recon — is the process of combining or dividing farms or tracts of land based on the farming operation.

To be effective for the current Fiscal Year (FY), farm combinations and farm divisions must be requested by August 1 of the FY for farms subject to the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) program.  A reconstitution is considered to be requested when all:

• of the required signatures are on FSA-155
• other applicable documentation, such as proof of ownership, is submitted.

Total Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and non-ARC/PLC farms may be reconstituted at any time. 

The following are the different methods used when doing a farm recon:

Estate Method — the division of bases, allotments and quotas for a parent farm among heirs in settling an estate;

Designation of Landowner Method — may be used when (1) part of a farm is sold or ownership is transferred; (2) an entire farm is sold to two or more persons; (3) farm ownership is transferred to two or more persons; (4) part of a tract is sold or ownership is transferred; (5) a tract is sold to two or more persons; or (6) tract ownership is transferred to two or more persons. In order to use this method the land sold must have been owned for at least three years, or a waiver granted, and the buyer and seller must sign a Memorandum of Understanding;

DCP Cropland Method — the division of bases in the same proportion that the DCP cropland for each resulting tract relates to the DCP cropland on the parent tract;

Default Method — the division of bases for a parent farm with each tract maintaining the bases attributed to the tract level when the reconstitution is initiated in the system.

POSTED COUNTY PRICE AND LDP RATES

The website to check daily LDP rates is as follows:

http://www.fsa.usda.gov/programs-and-services/price-support/ldp-rates/index

USDA SERVICE CENTER CONTACT INFORMATION

Telephone 719-438-5851 FSA (Ext 2), NRCS (Ext 3). FSA Fax number: fax2mail 844-332-7501

E-mail individuals firstname.lastname@co.usda.gov (Example firstname.lastname@co.usda.gov, dawna.weirich, charla.ferris, hallie.barlow, marvin.watson, marlin.miller, Alicia.L.james

KIOWA COUNTY FARM LOAN CONTACT INFO – CALL FOR AN APPOINTMENT

Telephone 719-336-3437 (ext2) Mary Rhoades, mary.rhoades@co.usda.gov

SERVICE CENTER OFFICE HOURS: 

Monday through Friday - 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.  By appointment only on Friday.

FSA INFORMATION

For information on programs visit our website located at www.fsa.usda.gov or like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.