IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:

• Farm Loan personnel in Eads Office – 2^nd Tuesday every month
• 2019 & 2020 - ARCPLC signup - Begins October 1 - Deadline March 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. 

COC ELECTION 

The 2019 County Committee ballots were counted on Wednesday, December 4. The Local Administrative Area (LAA) 3, which is County Rd 27 west to the Kiowa/Crowley county line was the area for the election this year. Incumbent, Michael Zimmerman was re-elected for another three-year term. 

Thank you to Michael and the rest of the County Committee, Duff and Sean for sacrificing your time to serve on the County Committee.  

2018 OILSEED PLC PAYMENTS

Producers with Price Loss Coverage (PLC) farms that have sunflower base received their 2018 PLC payment last week. The final rate for 2018 sunflowers were .0275 per pound. 

This will be the final round of payments for 2018 PLC. Enrollment is underway now for crop years 2019 and 2020 ARCPLC and the deadline is March 15. Beginning in 2021, producers can change their election yearly through 2023.  

CRP SIGNUP ANNOUNCED

Secretary Perdue announced last week that CRP signup will begin Monday, December 9 and will end February 28, 2020. This signup will also encompass existing contracts that expire September 30, 2020 as well as allow for producers the opportunity to offer new land into the CRP program. 

For months, producers have been asking questions regarding contracts that will expire this next year. Yes, there will be an opportunity for producers with contracts that are under an extension and those that will be expiring to re-offer those acres or a portion of those acres back into CRP for another 10-year contract. Producers will be receiving a letter stating that fact and, in the letter, producers will be given numerous options, and those options won’t go into great detail, rather will just skim the surface. 

Once producers get the letter, the first thing they will want to do is call the office and schedule an appointment. We ask that right now, DO NOT CALL THE OFFICE with questions or try to schedule an appointment. The office has been given a list of producers who will be receiving a letter and we are fully aware of contracts that will be expiring. 

Again, the signup does not end until February. The office will get in touch with you when meeting dates have been determined. 

At this point and so early into the signup, many things can and will change. The County Committee is planning on conducting informational meetings to educate producers. A date has not been set for the meeting(s), but it our full intention to get producers notified of the date when the date has been determined.

The office has limited staff at this time of year, due to the holidays and employees out of the office, due to use or lose vacation days. 

The staff also has numerous other programs that they are trying to wrap up before diving deep into CRP signup. 

Best advice for producers this early in the process, read your letter, write down your questions for meetings and we will be in touch.