Deadlines near for two crop programs
By Turner Walston
Published in News on April 27, 2006 1:45 PM
Two important deadlines for Farm Service Agency programs are approaching.
May 15 is the deadline for crop reports on wheat, barley, oats, rye and any fruit and vegetable planted or growing before May 15.
All cropland on a farm must be reported to retain program benefits. The sign-up period for the Direct and Counter-cyclical Payment Program (DCP) ends on June 1. Applications obtained after June 1, but before Sept. 30 will be accepted, but the farm will be assessed a late fee of $100.
"DCP is a program designed in the last farm bill to support the producers, through historic program payments," said Rick Tharrington, county executive director for Farm Service Agency. "With the low prices we are experiencing, These payments are critical to farmer's cash flow." The counter-cyclical payments provide support counter to the cycle of market prices as part of a "safety net" in the event of low crop prices.
The DCP was instituted in the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002. "Farms have a history of planting crops, and those crops are used in the 2002 farm bill to determine historically-planted acres," Tharrington said. Producers are paid on 85 percent of acres for historically-planted crops such as cotton, corn, soybeans and wheat.
For information on programs, contact Farm Service Agency at 734-5281.