IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:

• CRP General CRP signup #56 – Extended indefinitely
• CORONAVIRUS FOOD ASSISTANCE PROGRAM -  see article below for details
• CRP EMERGENCY GRAZING AVAILABLE – Contact the FSA Office if interested. 
• PRIMARY NESTING SEASON - March 15 - July 15

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. 

THE USDA SERVICE CENTER HAS A DROP BOX AVAILABLE ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE BUILDING.  

SERVICE CENTER STAFFING

The Service Center received notification last week that all Service Centers nationwide will allow only 50% of the staff to work in the Service Center during the work week.  In Kiowa County, that allows all Service Center employees to work in the office, during office hours.  

Visitors are not allowed into the Service Center at this time. 

CRP EMERGENCY GRAZING DURING PRIMARY NESTING SEASON

Many counties in Colorado are eligible for Emergency grazing of eligible CRP acres.  If interested in Emergency grazing of CRP; we encourage producers to contact your local FSA office for more information.  

Producers who request to graze during the primary nesting season, which is March 15^th through July 15^th must do the following before grazing can be approved:

Call the FSA office to begin the necessary paperwork.  

NRCS personnel will need to make a field visit to determine if the land can sustain grazing.  

• if the contract was grazed after October 1, 2020; the request will be disapproved.  
• If the contract was grazed prior to October 1, 2020; there has to be sufficient grass height to allow grazing again.  A six-inch grass height must be maintained on all CRP contracts.     

If the contract is approved for grazing, the CRP contract participants and the producer with the livestock must sign paperwork at the FSA Office. Grazing plans will be written at 50% stocking rate during primary nesting. 

Grazing may commence when the producer receives a phone call from FSA personnel that the grazing has been approved. Official notification in writing will follow.  

AT NO TIME CAN FEEDING OF BALES BE ALLOWED ON THE CRP ACRES. 

NOTE:  If NRCS determines the grazing cannot sustain grazing, CRP producers will be notified.  

Haying is not authorized during PNS or primary nesting season. 

Ineligible acres are: SAFE or State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement acres.   In Kiowa those are acres enrolled into the Lesser Prairie Chicken SAFE CRP program. 

CORONAVIRUS FOOD ASSISTANCE PROGRAM UPDATE

FSA offices received word last week that the CFAP 2 program will be reopened to process late-filed applications and also allow producers to apply for assistance that did not apply in the previous signup period.  

The ‘top-up’ payments will automatically be calculated by FSA and will be direct deposited or checks issued. Currently, the ‘top-up payments will be calculated for cattle and price trigger and flat-rate crops.  The cattle payments are based off number of head listed on the CFAP-1 application.  

CFAP-1 CATTLE – Payments to be issued the week of April 5th

Payment rates are as follows: 

• Feeder Cattle:  600 # or less - $7.00 per head
• Feeder Cattle: 600 # or more - $25.50 per head
• Slaughter Cattle:  Fed Cattle - $63.00 per head
• Slaughter Cattle:  Mature Cattle - $14.75 per head
• All other Cattle: $17.25 per head

FSA will calculate the payment based on the producer’s eligible highest owned inventory (including breeding livestock) between April 16, 2020 to May 14, 2020 based on the approved AD-3114 – CFAP-1 application.  

PRICE TRIGGER and FLAT-RATE CROPS – Payments to be issued beginning April 1.  

Producers with approved AD-3117 – CFAP-2 applications for price-trigger commodities and/or flat-rate based commodities will receive $20.00 per share of planted 2020 acres, on the following crops: 

Only crops relevant to Kiowa County are listed; for a complete listing visit farmers.gov

Price-trigger commodities

• Corn
• Sorghum
• Soybeans
• Sunflowers
• Wheat

Flat-rate crops

• Alfalfa
• Millet
• Triticale

Again, producer’s do NOT need to reapply for these payments.  FSA will use data on the approved AD-3114 – CFAP-1 and/or AD-3117- CFAP-2 application to calculate eligible payments.  

REQUESTING AN INCREASE TO A LEGAL ENTITY’S PAYMENT LIMITATION 

A CFAP applicant that is a corporation, LLC, LP, trust, or estate qualifying for the CFAP-1 cattle top-up payment or the CFAP-2 price trigger or flat-rate top-up payment, or applying for CFAP-2, may request an increase in the $250,000.00 payment limitation.  An authorized representative of a legal entity may revise a previously filed CFAP-1 or CFAP-2 application to provide names of 2 or 3 persons who are members of the legal entity that provided 400 or more hours of actively personal labor, active personal management, or a combination thereof.  The authorized representative must sign the revised application.  

APPLYING FOR ASSISTANCE 

Producers who did not apply for CFAP-2 assistance or the filed an application that was considered late filed; need to contact their local FSA Office to determine eligibility and apply for assistance.   Deadline to apply has not been determined.