Friday, June 20, 2014

Fwd: Atascosa County FSA June Newsletter



---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: USDA Farm Service Agency <usdafsa@service.govdelivery.com>
Date: Fri, Jun 20, 2014 at 9:07 AM
Subject: Atascosa County FSA June Newsletter
To: iammejtm@gmail.com


June 2014

GovDelivery Newsletter Masthead

Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page.

Table of Contents


Atascosa County FSA Updates


Atascosa County FSA Office

107 Wyoming Blvd
Pleasanton, Texas 78064

Phone: 830-569-3845
Fax: 830-569-6140

County Executive Director:
Scott Heffernan

Farm Loan Manager:
Sara Webb

Program Technicians:
Pamela Bunch

Kimberly King

Next County Committee Meeting:  July 2 at 9:00 am

LIVESTOCK DISASTER ASSISTANCE SIGN-UP UNDERWAY

Livestock disaster program enrollment opened on April 15, 2014. These disaster programs are authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill as permanent programs and provide retroactive authority to cover losses that occurred on or after Oct. 1, 2011.

To expedite applications, all producers who experienced losses are encouraged to bring records documenting those losses to their local FSA Office. Producers should record all pertinent information of natural disaster consequences, including:  

  • Documentation of the number and kind of livestock that have died, supplemented if possible by photographs or video records of ownership and losses
  • Dates of death supported by birth recordings or purchase receipts
  • Costs of transporting livestock to safer grounds or to move animals to new pastures
  • Feed purchases if supplies or grazing pastures are destroyed
  • Crop records, including seed and fertilizer purchases, planting and production records 

Eligible producers can sign-up for the following livestock disaster assistance programs: 

Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP):

LFP provides compensation to eligible livestock producers that have suffered grazing losses due to drought on privately owned or cash leased land or fire on federally managed land. Eligible producers must physically be located in a county affected by a qualifying drought during the normal grazing period for the county. Producers who suffered eligible grazing losses should submit a completed CCC-853 and supporting documentation by January 30, 2015. 

Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP):

LIP provides compensation to eligible livestock producers that have suffered livestock death losses in excess of normal mortality due to adverse weather and attacks by animals reintroduced into the wild by the federal government or protected by federal law. Producers who suffered livestock death losses should submit a notice of loss and an application for payment to their local FSA office by January 30, 2015. 

Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP)

ELAP provides emergency assistance to eligible producers of livestock, honeybees and farm-raised fish that have losses due to disease, adverse weather, or other conditions, such as blizzards and wildfires. ELAP assistance is provided for losses not covered by LFP and LIP. Producers who suffered eligible livestock, honeybee or farm-raised fish losses during 2012 and 2013 program years must submit a notice of loss and application for payment to their local FSA office by August 1, 2014. For 2014 program year losses, the notice of loss and an application for payment must be submitted by November 1, 2014.   

For more information, producers can review the LFP, LIP and ELAP Fact Sheets on the Farm Bill webpage. Producers are encouraged to make an appointment with their local FSA office to apply for these programs.

 


USDA'S FARM SERVICE AGENCY (FSA) OFFERS FARM BILL WEBSITE AND ONLINE OVERVIEW OF FARM BILL PROGRAMS

The Agricultural Act of 2014 (the Act), also known as the 2014 Farm Bill, was signed by President Obama on Feb. 7, 2014. The Act repeals certain programs, continues some programs with modi­fications, and authorizes several new programs administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA). Most of these programs are authorized and funded through 2018.

For the latest on 2014 Farm Bill programs administered by FSA, please visit our Farm Bill website at www.fsa.usda.gov/farmbill and for an FSA program overview please read, download and/or print our recently posted FSA Farm Bill Fact Sheet titled, What's in the 2014 Farm Bill for Farm Service Agency Customers? 

For more information on FSA, please contact your local USDA Service Center or visit us online at www.fsa.usda.gov.


SAVE TIME – MAKE AN APPOINTMENT WITH FSA

As we roll out the Farm Bill programs administered by FSA, there will be related signups and in some cases multiple management decisions that need to be made by you, the producer, in consult with FSA staff.  To insure maximum use of your time and to insure that you are afforded our full attention to your important business needs, please call our office ahead of your visit to set an appointment and to discuss any records or documentation that you may need to have with you when you arrive for your appointment. For local FSA Service Center contact information, please visit: http://offices.sc.egov.usda.gov/locator/app .


2014 ACREAGE REPORTING DATES

In order to comply with FSA program eligibility requirements, all producers are encouraged to visit the Atascosa County FSA office to file an accurate crop certification report by the applicable deadline. July 15, 2014 is the fianl date to report Peanuts and CRP. If the crop has not been planted by the acreage reporting date, then the acreage must be reported no later than 15 calendar days after planting is completed. If a producer acquires additional acreage after the above acreage reporting date, then the acreage must be reported no later than 30 calendars days after purchase or acquiring the lease. Appropriate documentation must be provided to the county office.

For questions regarding crop certification and crop loss reports, please contact the Atascosa County FSA office at 830-569-3845 



MICROLOAN PROGRAM

The Farm Service Agency (FSA) developed the Microloan (ML) program to better serve the unique financial operating needs of beginning, niche and small family farm operations. 

FSA offers applicants a Microloan designed to help farmers with credit needs of $35,000 or less. The loan features a streamlined application process built to fit the needs of new and smaller producers.  This loan program will also be useful to specialty crop producers and operators of community supported agriculture (CSA). 

Eligible applicants can apply for a maximum amount of $35,000 to pay for initial start-up expenses such as hoop houses to extend the growing season, essential tools, irrigation and annual expenses such as seed, fertilizer, utilities, land rents, marketing, and distribution expenses.  As financing needs increase, applicants can apply for a regular operating loan up to the maximum amount of $300,000 or obtain financing from a commercial lender under FSA's Guaranteed Loan Program.

Individuals who are interested in applying for a microloan or would like to discuss other farm loan programs available should contact their local FSA office to set up an appointment with a loan official. 


USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (866) 632-9992 (Toll-free Customer Service), (800) 877-8339 (Local or Federal relay),
(866) 377-8642 (Relay voice users).

Bookmark and Share


Update your subscriptions, modify your password or e-mail address, or stop subscriptions at any time on your Subscriber Preferences Page. You will need to use your e-mail address to log in. If you have questions or problems with the subscription service, please contact subscriberhelp.govdelivery.com. For all other inquiries, please contact askfsa@usda.gov.

If you have questions about FSA activities, please view our Frequently Asked Questions page or you may also Search our web site. These features are designed to assist you in obtaining the information you are seeking.

This service is provided to you at no charge by the USDA Farm Service Agency.

This email was sent to iammejtm@gmail.com using GovDelivery, on behalf of: USDA Farm Service Agency · 1400 Independence Ave., S.W. · Washington, DC 20250 · 800-439-1420 Powered by GovDelivery




--
Jeremy Tobias Matthews

No comments:

Post a Comment