IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:

• USDA Service Center Closed- October 14 - Observance of Columbus Day 
• ARCPLC Producer Meetings - Various locations throughout Colorado.  CONTACT THE FSA OFFICE OR CSU Extension for location near you.  
• CRP Meeting - November 13 - Las Animas - Call Cathy at 719-543-1324 – RSVP REQUIRED
• Farm Loan personnel in Eads Office – 2^nd Tuesday every month
• COC Meeting - TBA
• 2019 MFP - Call and schedule your appointment! 
• 2019 & 2020 - ARCPLC signup - Begins October 1
• 2020 Acreage Reporting Deadline - November 15, 2019 Wheat, perennial grasses and alfalfa 

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. 

OCTOBER PAYMENTS 

October 1 of every year begins a new fiscal year for the Government.  Currently, without appropriations for certain programs, payments for those programs cannot be issued until funding is received.  Unfortunately, the 2019 Marketing Facilitation Program, or MFP, is one of those programs that does not have funding to issue payments.  Therefore, for producers who have signed their MFP application, but have not received their payment, will need to be patient as the County Office has no control in obtaining funding.  

2018 PLC FINAL RATES 

The 2018 Price Loss Coverage (PLC) final rates have been published for corn, soybeans, canola and grain sorghum.  2018 payments to eligible producers who elected the PLC program for one or more of the covered commodities will be issued later this month.    

• Corn - .09 bu. 
• Grain Sorghum - .69 bu. 
• Soybeans -  -0-
• Canola - .0435 #

Sunflower projected rate - .0295 # (final to be published in December)

‘ANNIE’S PROJECT’ CLASSES 

In 30 years of working for FSA, I have witnessed women who have been ‘thrown’ into the role of managing a farm and/or ranch due to the untimely death of the husband, father or brother.  Suddenly, this woman is now the farm manager and needs to make the day to day decisions concerning the livestock, crops and finances.  Decisions that will impact the future of her family, that in itself can be overwhelming.  I would encourage women involved in agriculture to make plans to register for this upcoming class in Lamar at Lamar Community College.  

LCC, CSU and Farm Credit have joined together to offer women involved in agriculture a course on various agriculture topics.  The six-week course is a discussion-based workshop bringing women together to learn from experts in production, financial management, human resources, marketing and the legal field. The cost for all six classes is $75.00, the classes are on Monday evenings 6:00-9:00 p.m. beginning October 14 at Lamar Community College.   The easiest way to register is to visit this website http://www.anniesproject.org/upcoming-classes/colorado/ or call Abby Weber at 719-456-0764 to register.  The deadline to register is Monday, October 7, however Abby Weber stated she would keep the registration open until Friday, October 11 for those interested in attending.   

There will be a class in January 2020 in Springfield.  

PRODUCER LETTERS 

Operators and owners on farms with ARCPLC base acres, but FSA records indicate the entire farm was planted to grass, idle or fallow for the past 8 years received notification regarding the status of the farm.  The 2018 Farm Bill reauthorized the ARCPLC program; however, farms that are not being actively farmed will not be eligible for the program.  

The producers can enroll the farm into the Grasslands Conservation Initiative (GCI), that program is administered by NRCS.  Under the GSI program, producers have a 1-time opportunity to enroll any portion of the eligible land in a GCI contract.  Producers must agree to maintain and manage enrolled grasslands for 5 years in a grass cover, or with conservation practices installed and maintained to address grassland related resource concerns.  Eligible producers, who enroll and are approved for the program can receive annual payments of $18.00 per acre for base acres enrolled in a GCI contract.  Producers can terminate the GCI contract at any time without penalties.  

Producers who have received notification by mail and are interested in enrolling into the program must notify the NRCS office by October 25, 2019. Because the Eads NRCS Office doesn’t have any personnel, call Scott Smith at 719-767-5648 ext. 3 or visit the Eads FSA Office to complete an application and it will be emailed to Scott.