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Travel businesses consider the Memorial Day weekend the start of the summer vacation season for urban Americans. For farmers, it also means several key deadlines are approaching at your Farm Service Agency office. May 31 is the last day to apply for CCC loans or to collect an LDP (loan deficiency payment) on 2004 corn and soybean crops. The next day, June 1, is the deadline to sign up for the direct and counter-cyclical payment program, or DCP.
Failure to enroll could cost you about $70 to $80 an acre in lost farm program benefits, Kent Thiesse, a vice president at MinnStar Bank in Lake Crystal Minnesota recently reminded readers of his newsletter. "According to farm program rules in the 2002 Farm Bill, farm operators are required to sign up for the DCP program each year," Thiese points out. "This has been somewhat confusing to some producers, since they signed up only once for the entire seven years (1996-2002) in the last Farm Bill." As of May 15, about 15% of producers in his state still hadn't signed up, says Thiese, a former Extension farm management specialist. You can sign up after the deadline -- through September 30 -- but USDA will charge procrastinators a $100 per farm fee. You can also sign up online -- but you'll have to visit an FSA office first to complete registration for an online account. More information about the DCP signup is on USDA's Web site, including this signup reminder from Ag Secretary Mike Johanns: www.fsa.usda.gov/pas/FullStory.asp?StoryID=2140 You have another month, until June 30, to certify your 2005 crop acreage to FSA on Form 578. That may seem like a comfortable margin, but not everyone knows that for the first time you have to include planting dates with acreage certification, says Steve Johnson, an Iowa State University Extension farm management specialist. Because many producers use that form to document planting information for crop insurance purposes, it's important that both planting dates, acreage and share of ownership are accurate, Johnson says. The Risk Management Agency's increased surveillance for insurance fraud makes it even more important. Bruce Cordes, public affairs specialist at the FSA's Iowa state office adds that it's good to report acreage while planting dates are fresh on your mind. "We encourage everybody as they complete planting to get in and get their crops certified. Don't wait until the last minute," he says. (Procrasinators: If it makes you feel any better, I have several magazine writing deadlines facing me next week. If I miss it, I don't have a $100 fee to pay -- yet. Who knows, my copy editor may like that idea.) |
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