IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:

• PRIMARY NESTING SEASON -  March 15^th -  July 15 -  NO CRP Contract Management ALLOWED
• FARM LOAN Personnel in Kiowa County Service Center – Tuesday, April 10^th
• County Committee Meeting – April 24^th  
• CRP Continuous Signup - CRP Grassland OFFERS ONLY.  Producers interested are urged to contact FSA Office.  NOW!! - File form CCC-633 EZ page 1 with FSA before losing beneficial interest to maintain Loan Deficiency Payment (LDP) eligibility.  (To request payments, producers need to submit page 2 of the CCC-633EZ)
• 2018 ARCPLC Enrollment deadline -  August 1, 2018

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.

MOISTURE

The weather forecast for last week showed the county was to get some much-needed moisture, as of Thursday the Eads area hadn’t received any moisture.  Hopefully the moisture is on the way. 

CRP Participants Must Maintain Approved Cover on Acreages Enrolled in CRP and Farm Programs

Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) participants are responsible for ensuring adequate, approved vegetative and practice cover is maintained to control erosion throughout the life of the contract after the practice has been established. Participants must also control undesirable vegetation, weeds (including noxious weeds), insects and rodents that may pose a threat to existing cover or adversely impact other landowners in the area.

All CRP maintenance activities, such as mowing, burning, disking and spraying, must be conducted outside the primary nesting or brood rearing season for wildlife, which for Colorado is March 15 through July 15th. In this instance, spot treatment is limited to the affected areas in the field and requires County Committee approval prior to beginning the spot treatment. The County Committee will consult with NRCS to determine if such activities are needed to maintain the approved cover.

Annual mowing of CRP for generic weed control, or for cosmetic purposes, is prohibited at all times.

Payment Limitations by Program

The 2014 Farm Bill established a maximum dollar amount for each program that can be received annually, directly or indirectly, by each person or legal entity. Payment limitations vary by program for 2014 through 2018.

Below is an overview of payment limitations by program.

• Commodity and Price Support Programs The annual limitation for the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs, Loan Deficiency Payments (LDPs) and Market Loan Gains is $125,000 total.
• Conservation Programs The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) annual rental payment and incentive payment is limited to $50,000. CRP contracts approved before Oct. 1, 2008, may exceed the limitation, subject to payment limitation rules in effect on the date of contract approval.
• The Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) has an annual limit of $200,000 per disaster event. The Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP) has an annual limit of $500,000 per disaster event.
• Disaster Assistance Programs The annual limitation of $125,000 applies to the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP), Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) and Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP). The total payments received under ELAP, LFP and LIP may not exceed $125,000. A separate limitation of $125,000 applies to Tree Assistance Program (TAP) payments. There is also a separate $125,000 payment limit for the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP).

Payment limitations also apply to Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) programs. Contact your local NRCS office more information.

For more information on FSA payment limitations by program, visit https://www.fsa.usda.gov/Assets/USDA-FSA-Public/usdafiles/FactSheets/2015/payment_eligibility_payment_limitations.pdf

DROUGHT MONITOR

Another week of status quo for the Drought Monitor, as the D2 and D3 lines have not expanded.  The D4 category drought did expand for the panhandle of Oklahoma into SW Kansas and small part of Texas.  Colorado drought details for this week can be found in this KiowaCountyPress.net article.

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

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.