FSA Andy

Hello again!

Today’s topic is going to seem like it is the wrong time of year to discuss it, but it’s not. I am going to talk about crop acreage reporting.

In the past you were required to crop report small grains by June 30 and the rest of your crops by July 15. Starting with July 1, 2012, the deadline to report you crop acreage has changed.

Deadlines

The new deadlines are as follows:

fall barley, fall wheat and all other fall-seeded small grains — Dec. 15

apples and grapes — Jan. 15

burley tobacco, corn, grain sorghum, hybrid corn seed, spring oats, popcorn, potatoes, soybeans, sugar beets, tomatoes, cabbage (planted 3/19-5/31) and all other crops — July 15

cabbage (planted 6/1-7/20) — Aug. 15.

To get you accustomed to the new dates FSA offices are going to waive any late filing fees, in case you miss a deadline, for any crops with a reporting deadline from July 1, 2012 through June 30, 2013.

For your Non-Insured Assistance Program Crops the deadline to report your acreage is the earlier of the acreage reporting date listed in the above paragraph or 15 days before the onset of harvest or grazing of the specific crop being reported.

Example

For an example: if you have your alfalfa hay covered under NAP, there is not date listed above; therefore you will need to report your alfalfa hay 15 days period to the onset of harvest. If you were able to plant wheat this fall the deadline to report your acreage would be Dec. 15.

You may want to call your local FSA office to see how they are handling wheat crop acreage reports. But, if you miss the deadline, don’t worry, because you have until June 30 to report it without any late fees being assessed.

For 2014 wheat — wow, does that seem like a long way away — you will have to report the FSA office by Dec. 15, 2013 to be considered timely to avoid paying any late fees.

That’s all for now,

FSA Andy