The Missouri State Office of USDA's Farm Service Agency reminds Missouri farmers and land owners that June 1 is an important deadline for new and continuing participants in several USDA-FSA programs.
Farmers and land owners have about six weeks remaining to sign up for the Direct and Counter Cyclical Payment (DCP) and the Average Crop Revenue Election Program (ACRE), for which the deadline is June 1, 2012. In addition, producers have until June 1st to sign up for the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payment Program (SURE) for the 2010 crop year.
Eligible DCP participants receive a direct payment and/or a counter-cyclical payment. Direct payment rates are established by statute regardless of market prices. Counter-cyclical payments vary depending on market prices and are issued only when the effective price for a commodity is below its target price (which takes into account the direct payment rate, market price and loan rate).
ACRE protects producers from farm market revenue declines when revenue triggers are met for a commodity at both the state and farm level. Farms that are already enrolled in the Direct and Counter-Cyclical Program (DCP) for a crop year can elect to switch to ACRE before the end of sign up.
Both DCP and ACRE participants must sign annual contracts to receive program benefits. All signatures of producers who will receive a share of DCP and ACRE payments must be on file by the June 1, 2012, deadline.
Producers who suffered losses due to natural disasters during the 2010 crop year may be eligible to receive assistance through the SURE program. To be eligible for SURE, a farm must have:
At least a 10 percent production loss adjusted for quality on a crop of economic significance;
A policy or plan or insurance under the Federal Crop Insurance Act (FCIA) or the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) for all economically significant crops;
Been physically located in a county that was declared a primary disaster county or contiguous county by the Secretary of Agriculture. Individual producers may be eligible without this designation if the actual production on the farm is less than 50 percent of the normal production on the farm due to natural disaster.
To schedule an appointment, or to learn more about FSA programs, contact your local county FSA Office. Office locations and phone numbers can be found at www.fsa.usda.gov/mo.
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