Hi folks! Thanks for reading the March issue of Coffee Shop Talk with Daviess County FSA. March is sure coming in like a lamb this year. Beautiful weather for the first week, with spring in sight. As we enter spring there are a few important reminders and deadline to keep in mind. The first is March 16, the deadline to enroll in 2019 ARCPLC program. If not enrolled by March 16, your farm(s) will not be eligible for any potential 2019 payment. The next is the WHIP+ program which I’ve included more information about, and CRP management. Please read through the articles below and as always, please contact the office with any questions you may have.
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ARC or PLC- Election and Enrollment deadline is only 7 days away!
There are many things to consider when selecting your ARC/PLC elections. Currently the most important part is, when are you going to make it into the office before March 16? If all producers who have a share in the cropland on the farm do not sign their contracts by Monday, March 16, all 2019 payments are voided. This includes signatures from landowners with a share in the crop, another tenant who may rent pasture or hay acres, a tenant on another tract of the same farm. All must be in the office or returned by Monday, March 16. If you are not finished with your farms, please call or stop by asap. The staff here will assist you in reviewing the materials to help you make your decision.
WHIP+: USDA Opens Signup March 23 for Added Causes of Loss
USDA announced additional disaster assistance available to agricultural producers, including producers impacted by drought and excess moisture. Through WHIP+, USDA is helping producers recover from losses related to 2018 and 2019 natural disasters. In June 2019, more than $3 billion was made available through a disaster relief package passed by Congress and signed by President Trump. In December 2019, Congress passed, and President Trump signed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020 that provides an additional $1.5 billion for the continuation of disaster assistance program delivery.
FSA will open signup on March 23 for producers to apply for eligible losses of drought and excess moisture.
To be considered eligible for WHIP+, producers must farm land in a county that has been declared a Secretarial or Presidential disaster county, resulting from an eligible disaster. Daviess County was declared a disaster county in 2018 for the drought and in 2019 for the floods.
WHIP+ is only designed to aid with production losses, however, if quality was taken into consideration under federal crop insurance where production was further adjusted, the adjusted production will be used in calculation assistance under this program. If there is widespread crop quality loss from eligible disaster events, that results in price deductions or penalties when marketing the damaged crops. The Appropriations bill expands WHIP+ to include assistance for crop quality loss. FSA is gathering data and input from producers and stakeholders regarding the extent and types of quality loss nationwide.
To be eligible for WHIP+, producers must have suffered losses of certain crops, trees, bushes, or vines in eligible disaster counties for an eligible natural disaster event that occurred in 2018 or 2019. Eligibility will be determined for each producer based on the size of the loss and the lever of insurance coverage elected by the producer. A WHIP factor will be determined for each crop based on the producer’s coverage level. Producers who elected higher coverage levels will receive a higher WHIP factor.
Because livestock losses are covered by other disaster recovery programs offered through FSA, these losses are not eligible for WHIP+.
Both insured and uninsured producer are eligible to apply for WHIP+. Producers receiving assistance through WHIP+ will be required to purchase crop insurance, at least at the 60 percent level, for the next two available crop years after the crop year for which WHIP+ payments were made.
If your crops suffered a qualifying loss in 2018 or 2019, please contact the Daviess County FSA office after March 23.
CRP- Maintenance and Management
We are coming up on CRP management timeframes for the burning or spraying of cool season grasses. Almost all current CRP contracts are required to have contract management completed in years 3-6 of the contract. If required management is not completed timely, penalties will apply and possible contract termination. If you are unsure if you have completed your Mid Contract Management or have questions on which practice would be best for yours, please contact the office.
The three options for Mid Contract Management are fire burn, light strip disking, or chemical spraying. If your contract is cool season grasses (CP-1) you can burn or spray from March 15-April 30. Warm season grasses (CP-2) can be burned through March 31. Fire burning removes heavy thatch and encourages the growth of wildflowers, legumes and seed-producing plants which are ideal for wildlife. If you choose a chemical application, it should temporarily set back the growth of grass species to allow for the growth of forbs and legumes to increase the stand’s diversity. Chemical rates should conform to the label recommendations for “suppression.” Light disking can be done on either warm or cool season grass contracts through March 31.
This is also a good time to address any woody species or noxious weeds if they are present in your CRP. Except for tree practices and a few wildlife practices that require shrub plantings or down tree structures, CRP is to remain free of trees, brush and noxious weeds during the life of the contract. If ground is not kept free of trees, it is considered a compliance issue and penalties will apply.
Thanks for reading this issue of Coffee Shop Talk. Until next time, feel free to call or stop on by if you have any questions. Good luck to all the livestock producers who have been or will be calving, lambing, kidding or foaling this spring and to all those making spring planting preparations.