June 26, 2023

PAY  ATTENTION  TO  FARM  PROGRAM  DEADLINES

Sometimes once the crop is planted and we get into mid-Summer, it’s easy to overlook some important deadlines at Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices, crop insurance, and other important deadlines. Missing some of these deadlines can be a costly mistake, as many of the program payments and benefits are linked to compliance with these deadlines. There is also some other important information currently available related to USDA programs. Following is a summary of some of the important deadlines and information:

• FSA Acreage Certification — The 2023 crop acreage reporting deadline for all Spring planted crops is Monday, July 17 at local FSA offices. Farmers are required to report their 2023 crop acres of corn, soybeans, spring wheat, and other Spring planted crops to FSA offices. This includes crop acreage of hemp and wild rice. The only exception is for crops that were planted after the deadline. In that case, farmers have an additional 15 days to report their crop acreage. Producers also need to report any 2023 prevented planted crop acres to the FSA office by the July 17 deadline. Fall-seeded small grain crops must be reported by November 15, 2023.

Farm operators can now certify their crop acreage electronically to the FSA office, if they choose, by utilizing “farmers.gov portal”. This FSA portal also allows farmers to access farm records, maps, and other information available through FSA and Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) offices, as well as having the ability or online farm program enrollment and data submission. For more information on the setting up a FSA portal or regarding crop acreage certification, farmers should contact their local FSA office or go the FSA website at: https://www.farmers.gov/

• Crop Insurance Acreage Reporting Deadline — The 2023 crop acreage reporting deadline for corn, soybeans, and other Spring planted crops with local crop insurance agents is also Monday, July 17. Farmers are required to report their 2023 crop acres in order to maintain their 2023 crop insurance coverage. This is extremely important in 2023 due to the strong crop insurance guarantees for corn and soybeans, along with the potential for crop production issues in some areas due to late planting, drought, and other weather-related issues. Similar to FSA, any 2023 prevented planted acres need to be reported for crop insurance purposes, as well as any crop acres that were replanted this year.

• ERP II enrollment deadline is July 14 — The deadline for producers to apply for the Emergency Relief Program Phase Two (ERP II) is July 14, 2023 at local Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices. The ERP II program is designed to cover certain crop losses from the 2020 and 2021 crop years that were not previously covered through the original ERP Phase I program. ERP Phase I covered all crops that were enrolled in the federal crop insurance program or the noninsured crop disaster assistance program (NAP) in 2020 and 2021.

ERP II is intended to fill the gaps and cover producers that did not participate in crop insurance and NAP programs in 2020 and 2021, or raised crops that were not eligible for those programs. ERP Phase I payments were based on crop shortfalls compared to crop insurance guarantees, while ERP Phase II

payments will be based on shortfalls in the allowable gross revenue in the disaster years of 2020 or 2021, compared to gross revenue levels in the benchmark years of 2018 or 2019.  For crops that already received payments under the ERP I program, there will likely not be additional payments under the ERP II program. For more information on ERP II program eligibility or application, farmers should contact their local FSA office or go the FSA website at: https://www.fsa.usda.gov/erp

• PARP enrollment deadline is July 14 — The deadline for producers to apply for the Pandemic Assistance Relief Program (PARP) is also July 14, 2023 at local Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices. The PARP program is intended to provide financial assistance to producers of agricultural products that had their 2020 gross income negatively impacted due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Producers that suffered at least a 15 percent loss in gross revenue in 2020, compared to the gross revenue in the benchmark year of either 2018 or 2019 are potentially eligible for PARP payments. For beginning farmers that had no revenue in 2018 or 2019, it is allowable to use the intended revenue for 2020.

Both crop and livestock producers are potentially eligible for PARP payments. Once PARP program eligibility has been determined, the potential PARP payments are factored by 90 percent (.90) for beginning farmers, veterans, and socially disadvantaged farmers and factored by 80 percent (.80) for all other producers. All other USDA emergency payments that were already paid for the 2020 year will be deducted from potential PARP payments. Since livestock producers that suffered economic losses in 2020 were not eligible for ERP I payments, they may be more likely to qualify for PARP payments than crop producers. For more information on the PARP program, farmers should contact their local FSA office or go the FSA website at: https://www.farmers.gov/parp

• Remaining 2021 ELRP payments — USDA recently announced that producers that qualified for the 2021 Emergency Livestock Relief Program (ELRP) will be receiving the remaining 20 percent of their eligible 2021 ERLP payment. Eligible livestock producers originally received 80 percent of their 2021 ELRP payment once their 2021 ELRP application was approved. The additional 2021 ERLP payments are being sent out automatically to eligible producers. No additional application is necessary.

• ERP and ELRP programs for 2022 — Very soon, USDA will be announcing a sign-up period for the Emergency Relief Program (ERP) to cover crop losses from the 2022 crop year and the Emergency Livestock Relief Program (ELRP) to cover 2022 livestock losses. Qualifying for the 2022 ERP program will be similar to the 2020 and 2021 ERP program; however, ERP Phase I and II will be combined into one application sign-up. In the coming months, USDA will be providing more information on eligibility requirements and sign-up details for the 2022 ERP and ELRP programs through local FSA offices.
• 2023 CRP acres accepted — USDA has announced that more than 1 million acres have been accepted into the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) as a result of the 2023 General CRP sign-up earlier this year. A total of 295,000 new farmland acres were offered in this CRP sign-up period, as well as 891,000 expiring CRP acres that were offered for re-enrollment into the CRP program. USDA has also accepted 761,000 acres through the Continuous CRP program in 2023, and more CRP acres will be added through the Grassland CRP program that was offered in 2023. The CRP contracts approved this year will become effective on October 1, 2023. As of May 31, 2023, there were a total of just over 23 million acres enrolled in the CRP program, which is about 4 million acres below the maximum CRP acreage level of 27 million acres for 2023 that was established in the last Farm Bill.

Producers and landowners can enroll eligible land into the Continuous CRP program at any time during the year. The Continuous CRP offers are automatically accepted provided that the land being offered meets all eligible requirements. The Continuous CRP program includes acres enrolled under State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement (SAFE) Initiative, the Farmable Wetlands Program (FPP), and the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP). For more information on the various CRP program opportunities, producers and landowners should go to the FSA CRP website at: https://www.fsa.usda.gov/crp

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Note — For additional information contact Kent Thiesse, Farm Management Analyst and Sr. Vice President,

MinnStar Bank, Lake Crystal, MN.  (Phone — (507) 381-7960)

E-mail — kent.thiesse@minnstarbank.com)  Web Site — http://www.minnstarbank.com/