The Coffey, Douglas, Franklin, Osage and Shawnee County Farm Service Agency offices are holding an Agricultural Risk Coverage/Price Loss Coverage informational meeting on at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2019, at the Grace Community Church in Overbrook, Kan.

Producers in attendance will be given an explanation of the revisions to the ARC and PLC Programs and several programs available.  All producers, operators and landowners, are invited and encouraged to attend this informative meeting.

For more information about the meeting, contact Rachel Parker at 785-828-4631 or Rachel.parker@usda.gov.

For more information about the ARC and PLC programs, along with signup deadlines, tools and fact sheets, see https://www.fsa.usda.gov/programs-and-services/farm-bill/index.

Breaking new ground

Agricultural producers are reminded to consult with FSA and Natural Resource Conservation Service before breaking out new ground for production purposes as doing so without prior authorization may put a producer’s federal farm program benefits in jeopardy. This is especially true for land that must meet highly erodible land and wetland conservation provisions.

Producers with highly erodible land determined soils are required to apply tillage, crop residue and rotational requirements as specified in their conservation plan.

Producers should notify FSA as a first point of contact prior to conducting land clearing or drainage type projects to ensure the proposed actions meet compliance criteria such as clearing any trees to create new cropland, then these areas will need to be reviewed to ensure such work will not risk your eligibility for benefits.

Landowners and operators complete the form AD-1026 – Highly Erodible Land Conservation (HELC) and Wetland Conservation (WC) Certification to identify the proposed action and allow FSA to determine whether a referral to NRCS for further review is necessary.

Changing bank accounts

FSA program payments are issued electronically into producers’ bank accounts. In order to make timely payments, producers should notify the FSA servicing office if the account is closed or bank information is changed for whatever reason (such as financial institution merging or being purchased). Payments can be delayed if FSA is not notified of changes to account and bank routing numbers.

For some programs, payments are not made until the following year. For example, payments for crop year 2018 through the Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage program aren’t paid until 2019. If the bank account was closed due to the death of an individual or dissolution of an entity or partnership before the payment was issued, notify the local FSA office as soon as possible to claim payment.

ASKFSA

Looking for answers to your FSA questions? Then ASK FSA at askfsa.custhelp.com.

AskFSA is an online resource that helps you easily find information and answers to your FSA questions no matter where you are or what device you use.  It is for all customers, including underserved farmers and ranchers who wish to enroll in FSA loans, farm, and conservation programs.

Through AskFSA:

• Access FSA’s knowledge base.
• Receive answers to questions faster.
• Submit a question and receive a timely response from an FSA expert.
• Get notifications when answers important to you and your farming operation are updated.
• Customize your account settings and view responses at any time.

For more information, contact the Osage County FSA office at 785-828-4631 or 115 W. 17th St., Lyndon, Kan.