Gallia Lawrence
Meigs County
FSA Office 111 Jackson Pike Room 1571
Gallipolis, OH 45631 Phone: 800-391-6638
or 740-446-8687
Fax: 855-835-8350 County Executive Director:
James Herrell Program Technicians:
Brenda McNickle
Cathy Snyder
Cindy Brown
Ann Collins Farm Loan Manager:
Frankie Stith-Scott
Phone: 937-378-6173 Gallia Lawrence Meigs COC
Roger Colegrove, Chairman
Dick Neal, Vice Chairman
Jason Butler, Member
Alva Clark, Member
Thomas Murdock, Member
Linda Turley, Member
Tom Woodward, Member
Bill Howard, Minority Advisor Next County Committee Meeting: July 21 at 9:00 am | Farm Service Agency County Committee Nomination Period Begins June 15 The nomination period for local Farm Service Agency (FSA) county committees begins Sunday, June 15, 2014. To be eligible to serve on an FSA county committee, a person must participate or cooperate in a program administered by FSA, be eligible to vote in a county committee election and reside in the local administrative area where the person is nominated. For election purposes, counties are divided into local administrative areas, or LAA's. Each LAA selects one producer to serve a three-year term on the Farm Service Agency county committee. Each year, an election is held in an LAA to replace the committee member whose three-year term is expiring. In counties with three LAA's, one seat is up for election. In combined counties in some years, additional seats may be up for election. There are 7 different LAA's in Gallia Lawrence Meigs County. LAA 1 and LAA 2 are part of the election process this year. Both LAA's are located in Gallia County. LAA 1 includes: Addison, Cheshire, Clay, Gallipolis, Guyan, and Ohio townships. LAA 2 includes: Green, Harrison, Morgan, and Springfield townships. Farmers and landowners may nominate themselves or others. Organizations representing minorities and women also may nominate candidates. To become a candidate, an eligible individual must sign the nomination form, FSA-669A. The form and other information about FSA county committee elections are available at www.fsa.usda.gov/elections. Nomination forms for the 2014 election must be postmarked or received at the Gallia Lawrence Meigs County FSA office by close of business on Aug. 1, 2014. Elections will take place this fall. While FSA county committees do not approve or deny farm ownership or operating loans, they make decisions on disaster and conservation programs, emergency programs, commodity price support loan programs and other agricultural issues. Members serve three-year terms. FSA will mail ballots to eligible voters beginning Nov. 3, 2014. Ballots are due back to the FSA office either via mail or in person by Dec. 1, 2014. Newly elected committee members and alternates take office on Jan. 1, 2015. For more information, contact the Gallia Lawrence Meigs County FSA office or visit the County Committee Elections website to learn more about the County Committee Election process at: http://www.fsa.usda.gov/elections. | |
2014 Acreage Reporting Dates In order to comply with FSA program eligibility requirements, all producers are encouraged to visit the Gallia Lawrence Meigs County FSA office to file an accurate crop certification report by the applicable deadline. - July 15, 2014 --- Report all your Burley Tobacco, Cabbage (Planted 3/19/14-5/31/14), Corn, Grain Sorghum, Hybrid Corn Seed, Spring Oats, Popcorn, Potatoes, Soybeans, Sugar Beets, Tomatoes and all other crops.
- Aug. 15, 2014 --- Report Cabbage (Planted 6/1/14-7/20/14).
- Dec. 15, 2014 --- Fall Barley, Fall Wheat, and all other Fall-Seeded Small Grains.
The following exceptions apply to the above acreage reporting dates: - If the crop has not been planted by the above acreage reporting date, then the acreage must be reported no later than 15 calendar days after planting is completed.
- If a producer acquires additional acreage after the above acreage reporting date, then the acreage must be reported no later than 30 calendars days after purchase or acquiring the lease. Appropriate documentation must be provided to the county office.
- If a perennial forage crop is reported with the intended use of "cover only," "green manure," "left standing," or "seed," then the acreage must be reported by July 15th.
Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) policy holders should note that the acreage reporting date for NAP covered crops is the earlier of the dates listed above or 15 calendar days before grazing or harvesting of the crop begins. For questions regarding crop certification and crop loss reports, please contact the Gallia Lawrence Meigs County FSA office at 1-800-391-6638. New Farm Bill Offers Increased Loan Opportunities for Producers The 2014 Farm Bill offers increased opportunities for producers including farm loan program modifications that create flexibility for new and existing farmers. A fact sheet outlining modifications to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) Farm Loan Programs is available here. The Farm Bill expands lending opportunities for thousands of farmers and ranchers to begin and continue operations, including greater flexibility in determining eligibility, raising loan limits, and emphasizing beginning and socially disadvantaged producers. Changes that will take effect immediately include: - Elimination of loan term limits for guaranteed operating loans.
- Modification of the definition of beginning farmer, using the average farm size for the county as a qualifier instead of the median farm size.
- Modification of the Joint Financing Direct Farm Ownership Interest Rate to 2 percent less than regular Direct Farm Ownership rate, with a floor of 2.5 percent. Previously, the rate was established at 5 percent.
- Increase of the maximum loan amount for Direct Farm Ownership down payment loans from $225,000 to $300,000.
- Elimination of rural residency requirement for Youth Loans, allowing urban youth to benefit.
- Debt forgiveness on Youth Loans, which will not prevent borrowers from obtaining additional loans from the federal government.
- Increase of the guarantee amount on Conservation Loans from 75 to 80 percent and 90 percent for socially disadvantaged borrowers and beginning farmers.
- Microloans will not count toward loan term limits for veterans and beginning farmers.
Additional modifications must be implemented through the rulemaking processes. Visit the FSA Farm Bill website for detailed information and updates to farm loan program. Are you thinking about selling land that's enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)? If you plan to sell farmland that's enrolled in the CRP, our office would like to remind you about the terms and conditions of your contract. Under the CRP program, the original contract (CRP-1) will need to be revised to reflect the change in participants and/or shares on the contract. The new CRP participant(s) must sign a revised contract within 60 calendar days from the date of notification by the county committee or county executive director. If a revised contract isn't signed within the 60 day timeframe, the contract will be terminated with respect to the affected portions of such land and the original CRP participant will be held liable. If the new landowner elects not to continue the CRP contract, the contract will be terminated. When a contract is terminated, refund of the following payments plus interest is required from the original CRP participant: all annual rental payments, all cost share payments, signup incentive payments, and practice incentive payments. Liquidated damages are also assessed. Refunds of payments will not be required in cases where the owner's estate or the heirs do not succeed to the contract. There are other cases that do not require the refund of payments, when a participant loses control of the land, such as eminent domain. Lastly, contact the Gallia Lawrence Meigs County FSA office if you have any questions regarding the terms and conditions of your CRP contract. USDA Kicks off the 2014 "Feds Feed Families" Nationwide Food Drive USDA kicked off the 6th annual Feds Feed Families Campaign on June 2, 2014 and this will run through August 27. The food drive is an annual event in which Federal employees, nationwide, collect food for distribution by food banks, food pantries, and shelters. All Federal agencies across the country participate in the campaign and employees are asked to donate non-perishable food items throughout the summer. Donations are given to local food banks across the country – having a positive impact to help food banks address food insecurity. If you are interested in making a donation to the annual "Feds Feed Families" Food Drive, please locate a food pantry or food bank closest to you, visit the Feeding America Food Bank Locater website at http://feedingamerica.org/foodbank-results.aspx and the AmpleHarvest.org database at www.ampleharvest.org/find-pantry.php. Dates to Remember July 4 ------ Independence Day Holiday. FSA Offices Closed. July 15 ---- Final certification date to report burley tobacco; cabbage planted through May 31; corn, grain sorghum, hybrid corn seed, spring oats, potatoes, popcorn, sugar beets, tomatoes and other crops. Aug. 1 ----- Last day to file County Committee Nomination forms. USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (866) 632-9992 (Toll-free Customer Service), (800) 877-8339 (Local or Federal relay),
(866) 377-8642 (Relay voice users). |
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