USDA Update
IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:
- CRP Contract Management - Contact FSA or NRCS with questions. Producers have been notified of required completion dates.
- County Committee Meeting - TBA
- FARM LOAN Personnel in Kiowa County Service Center – August 8th
- August 1 - 2017 ARCPLC enrollment deadline
- August 1 - COC Nomination Deadline
- CRP Continuous Signup - Lesser Prairie Chicken, CRP Grassland acres are 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.
LET ITS RAIN!
The much needed moisture to the area was so welcome over the past week to 10 days. The monsoon season has been kind to Kiowa County. For the end of July, the area looks wonderful. Wheat harvest is completed for many and the majority of the reports of yields and test weight are good to average. The fall crops are looking wonderful with all the moisture. Hopefully the fall harvest is good or better than the wheat harvest.
2017 ARC-PLC ENROLLMENT
The ARCPLC contract enrollment deadline is August 1, 2017. All producers with shares in the crop must have the farm enrolled by the August 1st date. The office will be working the next couple of weeks to ensure producers have their signatures in the office. If you receive an email or USPS mail from the office in the next week or two, act promptly.
COUNTY COMMITTEE NOMINATIONS
The County Committee nomination period ends on August 1, 2017. In Kiowa County this year Local Administrative Area - 1 (LAA) which is the east end of the county and is currently represented by Sean Harkness will hold election.
County committees are made up of farmers and ranchers elected by other producers in their communities to guide the delivery of farm programs at the local level. Members serve three-year terms.
Farmers and ranchers may nominate themselves or others. To be eligible to serve on an FSA county committee, a person must participate or cooperate in an agency administered program, and reside in the LAA area where the election is being held. To become a candidate, an eligible individual must sign an FSA-669A nomination form. Producers who are interesting in serving, please contact the FSA office. This year’s election is for the eastern portion of the county. Sean Harkness is currently serving on the Committee representing that area.
Payments to Deceased Producers
In order to claim a Farm Service Agency (FSA) payment on behalf of a deceased producer, all program conditions for the payment must have been met before the applicable producer’s date of death.
If a producer earned a FSA payment prior to becoming deceased, the following is the order of precedence of the representatives of the producer:
- administrator or executor of the estate
- the surviving spouse
- surviving sons and daughters, including adopted children
- surviving father and mother
- surviving brothers and sisters
- heirs of the deceased person who would be entitled to payment according to the State law
In order for FSA to release the payment, the legal representative of the deceased producer must file a form FSA-325, to claim the payment for themselves or an estate. The county office will verify and determine that the application, contract, loan agreement, or other similar form requesting payment issuance, was signed by the applicable deadline for such form, by the deceased or a person legally authorized to act on their behalf at that time of application.
If the application, contract or loan agreement form was signed by someone other than the participant who is deceased, FSA will determine whether the person submitting the form has the legal authority to submit the form to compel FSA to pay the deceased participant.
Payments will be issued to the respective representative’s name using the deceased program participant’s tax identification number. Payments made to representatives are subject to offset regulations for debts owed by the deceased.
FSA is not responsible for advising persons in obtaining legal advice on how to obtain program benefits that may be due to a participant who has died, disappeared or who has been declared incompetent.
Farm Service Agency Offers Text Alerts
Subscribers Can Receive Important Program Reminders and Updates
Producers can now receive notifications from their county office through text messages on their cell phone. Whether producers are in the field, on a tractor or even on horseback, this service enables FSA customers and stakeholders to receive notifications while on the go. Producers will receive text messages regarding important program deadlines, reporting requirements, outreach events and updates.
Producers can text COKiowa to FSANOW (372-669) to subscribe to text message alerts from Kiowa County. Standard text messaging rates apply. Contact your wireless carrier for details associated with your particular data plan. Participants may unsubscribe at any time. Please contact the FSA office if you have questions regarding FSA’s email news service or the new text message option.
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.
Kiowa County FSA Committee
- Destiny Haase - LAA 2 – Central area – Committee Chairperson
- Sean Harkness – LAA 1 – East area – Committee Vice-Chairperson
- Michael Zimmerman – LAA3 – West area – Committee Regular Member
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. Friday, by appointment only.
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.
