Hello Again!
Happy belated Fourth of July to all. Here are some neat tidbits about the Fourth. The actual resolution declaring our independence from England was passed July 2, 1776, with Congress finally approving it July 4.
Fourth
Did you know Thomas Jefferson the principle author? We didn’t start calling the Fourth Independence Day until 1791. The population on the Fourth in 1776 was estimated at 2.5 million people. This Fourth of July the population is estimated to be 231.8 million.
I was glad to see manufacturers sold $302.7 million dollars last year in flags and only $231.8 million in fireworks. I hope that figure never gets surpassed.
I feel comfortable in saying that farmers and ranchers are some of the most patriotic people in the nation. Let us not forget our military personnel who have fought for and continue serving to insure freedom for this great nation.
The next farm bill debate is coming up soon. Congress is working on a budget or so they say. I can guarantee that there are going to be some major changes in the farm bill.
We know a number of other FSA offices have been contacted by Sen. Sherrod Brown’s office about holding listening sessions with producers concerning the upcoming farm bill.
I suggest that you contact your local FSA office and see if a time has been set up so that you can come in provide input about what you like and dislike about the farm bill. I’m pretty certain, with the National Debt crisis we’re in, and high prices, the Direct Payments (DCP) that we make, are in big jeopardy of being slashed.
Speak your peace with your congressman about the farm bill, we are one of the few nations that enjoy this freedom.
Disaster reports
This spring’s bad weather led to a number of county offices filing disaster reports. Ohio has received a secretarial disaster designation (S3124) for 25 county offices, for flooding, high winds and tornadoes.
Producers in these counties will be eligible to apply for emergency loan assistance.
Emergency loans can be used to restore or replace essential property, pay all or part of production costs associated with the disaster year, pay essential family living expenses, reorganize the farming operation and refinance certain debts.
Additionally, these counties will be eligible for The Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments (SURE) program. To be eligible, producers must have had at least a 10 percent production loss affecting a crop of economic significance.
Producers must also have had crop insurance (FCIC) on all insurable crops of economic significance and also obtained NAP policy, from FSA, on all noninsurable crops of economic significance.
Contact your local FSA office for more details. Acreage reporting is continuing at full swing so keep your appointment with your local FSA office so we can get reporting done by July 15.
Tip
Lastly, here is a tip. FSA employees are federal employees. FSA takes reports of acreage on what was intended or planted.
If you intended to plant soybeans and filed a pp soybean report, don’t come back in at a later date and ask an employee to change it to pp corn, because your insurance agent told you to. That borders on fraud since it really wasn’t what you intended to do. We both know pp corn pays better than pp beans.
That’s all for now,
FSA Andy
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