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, June 6^th 
• FSA County Committee Meeting – June 12^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. 

USDA Designates Five Counties in Colorado as Primary Natural Disaster 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated Cheyenne, Crowley, Kiowa, Lincoln and Pueblocounties in Coloradoas primary natural disaster areasdue to losses and damages caused by a recent drought.

Farmers and ranchers in the following contiguous counties in Coloradoalso qualify for natural disaster assistance. Those counties are:

Farmers and ranchers in the contiguous counties of Greeley and Wallace in Kansasalso qualify for natural disaster assistance.

Qualified farm operators in the designated areas eligible for the Farm Service Agency’s (FSA’s) emergency (EM) loans, provided eligibility requirements are met. Farmers in eligible counties have eight months from the date of the declaration of May 3, 2018, to apply for loans to help cover part of their actual losses. FSA will consider each loan application on its own merits, taking into account the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability. FSA has a variety of programs, in addition to the EM loan program, to help eligible farmers recover from the impacts of this disaster.

Other FSA programs that can provide assistance, but do not require a disaster declaration, include: Operating and Farm Ownership Loans; the Emergency Conservation Program; Livestock Forage Disaster Program;Livestock Indemnity Program; Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program;and the Tree Assistance Program.Interested farmers may contact their local USDA service centers for further information on eligibility requirements and application procedures for these and other programs. Additional information is also available online at http://disaster.fsa.usda.gov.

More information and a map of all counties eligible for drought assistance is available here. USDA also designated a number of counties eligible for low interest emergency loans due to damages from wind, fire, and a blizzard. Those counties can be found here.

Drought

Drought conditions improved in some parts of Kiowa County this week, and grew worse in the southwest corner of the county. This week's drought update is available here.

Environmental Review Required Before Project Implementation

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires Federal agencies to consider all potential environmental impacts for federally-funded projects before the project is approved. 

For all Farm Service Agency (FSA) programs, an environmental review must be completed before actions are approved, such as site preparation or ground disturbance. These programs include, but are not limited to, the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP), Farm Storage Facility Loan (FSFL) program and farm loans. If project implementation begins before FSA has completed an environmental review, this will result in a denial of the request. There are exceptions regarding the Stafford Act and emergencies. It is important to wait until you receive written approval of your project proposal before starting any actions, including, but not limited to, vegetation clearing, site preparation or ground disturbance. 

Remember to contact your local FSA office early in your planning process to determine what level of environmental review is required for your program application so that it can be completed timely. 

Applications cannot be approved contingent upon the completion of an environmental review. FSA must have copies of all permits and plans before an application can be approved.

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.govor like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.