By Laurie Fuess
(Madison County, NY – Jan. 2012) Congratulations to Myron Smith of Munnsville, who was re-elected to represent farmers from Lenox, Lincoln, Oneida, Stockbridge and Sullivan on the County Committee. FSA thanks the producers who voted in this year’s election.
The county committee system works only because of your participation. The committee held its organizational meeting immediately after the election; Smith was elected chairman; Donna Griffin of Cazenovia, vice chairwoman and Charles Blood of Hubbardsville as regular member.
Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments
SURE provides crop disaster assistance payments to eligible producers on farms that have incurred crop revenue losses due to natural disaster during crop year 2010. The program takes into consideration crop losses on all crops grown by a producer nationwide.
SURE provides assistance in an amount equal to 60 percent of the difference between the SURE farm guarantee and total farm revenue.
Signup ends June 1; if you suffered any crop losses in 2010 call (315) 824-9076 ext. 2 for more information.
2011 Commodity Loans Available
If you grew corn, wheat, oats, barley or soybeans in 2011 and still have them stored on your farm, you could be eligible for a marketing assistance loan with us. These loans are a great marketing tool for you.
These are nine-month loans with very low interest rates: 1.125 percent for a loan obtained in January. Loan rates are per bushel: $2.11 for corn, $4.99 for soybeans, $1.35 for oats, $1.73 for barley and $2.54.
Give us a call for more information.
Foreign Buyers Notification
The Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Actrequires all foreign owners of U.S. agricultural land to report their holdings to the Secretary of Agriculture. FSA administers this program for USDA.
All individuals who are not U.S. citizens and have purchased or sold agricultural land in the county are required to report the transaction to FSA within 90 days of closing. Failure to submit AFIDA Form FSA-153 could result in civil penalties of up to 25 percent of the fair market value of the property.
County government offices, realtors, attorneys and others involved in real estate transactions are reminded to notify foreign investors of these reporting requirements.
DCP Signup Begins Jan. 23 and Ends June 1
FSA will compute the 2012 Direct and Counter-Cyclical Payment Program payments using base acres and payment yields established for each farm. Payments on these contracts will be made after Oct. 1. Signup is beginning later this year, and we have almost 600 contracts to enroll in this program, so don’t wait until the last minute; call now for an appointment.
Laurie Fuess is county executive director, USDA Farm Service Agency.























