Acreage reports required for crops, cropland

Daviess County farmers who want to receive farm program payments from the U.S. Department of Agriculture must file crop acreage reports by July 31 as a condition of receiving those payments. Kirby Payne, county executive director for the Daviess County Farm Service Agency, said, “Under the 1996 Farm Bill, producers must report crop acres for contract commodities for which they wanted a payment and for fruits and vegetables. That rule is still in effect, and the final reporting date in Missouri is July 31.” Acreage reporting requirements in the 2002 Farm Bill, which took effect this year, are slightly different, said Payne. “Under the new law, producers must also report the balance of any cropland acreage, including pasture and hay.” No deadline for reporting the balance of these cropland acres has been set, said Payne, because regulations implementing the new farm bill have not been published. “Producers will have 30 days from the date the regulations are printed in the Federal Register,” he said, “to report the balance of their cropland. FSA will announce the reporting date when it’s set.” The requirement to report all cropland on the farm is a condition for receiving direct payments, counter-cyclical payments, loan deficiency payments and marketing assistance loans beginning with the 2002 crop year. In 2003 through 2007, producers will follow FSA’s traditional reporting dates of April 30 for small grains and July 31 for all other crops. Producers filing acreage reports for the 1996 Farm Bill after July 31 will be charged a late fee, Payne said. Acreage reports filed only for determining bases for direct and counter-cyclical payments will not be assessed a late-filed fee. Producers who earlier this year filed acreage reports for contract commodities only will have to re-file reports to include all cropland. “We regret the inconvenience this will cause producers who’ve already filed a report,” Payne said.