By Eads USDA Service Center Staff

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:

• County Committee Meeting - 2^nd Tuesday each month.
• February 3^rd - SCALE Expo – Lamar Community College Wellness Center
• February 3^rd -  NRCS deadline for CSP (Conservation Stewardship Program)
• February 17^th – NRCS deadline for EQIP (Environmental Quality Incentives Program)
• 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.

IRS 1099’s

Producers are receiving the 2016 1099’s from the IRS for tax purposes.  We always encourage producers to review and verify the information on the 1099 agrees with your records.  Refunds made to CCC are NOT reflected on the 1099’s.  Producers haven’t had ‘market gains’ reflected on the 1099’s for many years and may not understand why the market gain is taxable. Producers are encouraged to contact the FSA office with any problems or discrepancies on the 1099’s.

SOUTHEAST CROPS AND LIVESTOCK EXPO (Scale)

Friday, February 3^rd at the LCC Wellness Center CSU Extension along with LCC and KVAY Radio 105.7 are sponsoring Southeast Crops and Livestock Expo, ‘Scale’ for short.  

8:00 – 9:00 Trade Show & Registration

9:00- 12:00 Forums on Market Outlook, Breakeven Analysis, FSA Loan Programs and Management Strategies.

12:00- 1:30 Lunch and Trade Show - Nolan Doeskin - Colo. State Climatologist

2:00 – 3:30 Drones in Agriculture - Daniel Melia 

3:30 – 5:00 Trade Show

This will be a great opportunity for Farmers and Ranchers to listen and gain some valuable information in these trying economic times in agriculture.  There is no charge for the event, so plan on attending. 

ARCPLC 2017 Enrollment

 The 2017 ARCPLC contracts are printed and ready for producers to sign them and complete other eligibility paperwork.  The end of enrollment is August 31, 2017, however once spring and summer months roll around producers are busy in the fields with planting and harvesting.  When you are in town, stop in the office and complete the enrollment process.  Monday – Thursday 8:00 – 4:30, FSA reserves Friday’s as our catch-up day and ask producers to conduct business without any appointment required Monday – Thursday.  We appreciate your cooperation.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

LDP RATES

The Posted County Price (PCP) for wheat continues to be above the loan rate, therefore no effective LDP rate was in effect this past week. 

Currently producers with marketing loans would repay principal plus interest because there is no effective LDP rate.  However, producers with Marketing Assistance Loans are encouraged to check the LDP rates daily.   Producers with commodity loans or who are considering applying for a commodity loan need to be aware of the options to repay the loan.  These include; repaying at the lessor of principal plus interest or the Posted County Price.   When repaying at the Posted County Price, a Commodity Certificate Exchange can be utilized to keep the market gain from applying to the $125,000 payment limitation. 

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

KIOWA COUNTY FARM LOAN CONTACT INFO – CALL FOR AN APPOINTMENT

Telephone 719-336-3437 (ext2) Natalie Bond; natalie.bond@co.usda.gov; 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.