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Virginia June Newsletter Articles and Updates – June 2022 |
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Farm Service Agency | Natural Resources Conservation Service | Risk Management Agency |
In This Issue:
FSA State Director MessageJune is almost gone and I’m sure you are busy in the fields finishing small grain harvest, planting double-crops, cutting hay, repairing fences, and working cattle. In our FSA county offices, we are also approaching our busiest time of year. Acreage reporting: I urge you to reach out now to your local USDA Service Center and make an appointment. In advance of your visit, your county office staff can supply you with aerial photocopies with acreage, to aide you in avoiding late-filing fees and meet these reporting deadlines. Your crop insurance agent can also assist you with reporting information necessary for crop insurance benefits, as applicable. Producers can also use USDA’s self-service portal, farmers.gov to securely view or print maps. To enroll in the online service visit farmers.gov/sign-in. Most importantly, please check your mailbox for forms regarding a new FSA program offering, called the Emergency Relief Program (ERP). The Emergency Relief program is in phase one and you need to return those forms, completed, to your local office before the Friday, July 22, 2022, deadline. The program covers 2020 and 2021 calendar year losses due to a qualifying natural disaster event. Currently, the program covers crop losses covered by crop insurance and later phase two will cover crops covered by the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program referred to as NAP. For impacted producers. FSA in Virginia has processed 705 applications, thus far, and paid out over 2.2 million for Emergency Relief Program benefits. NRCS State Conservationist’s MessageWhile we know a lot about making soil healthier and water cleaner, NRCS doesn’t have all the answers to big problems like climate change and how to feed a growing population. That’s why we seek out opportunities to partner with individuals and groups who are also passionate about natural resource protection. Urban agriculture is the next frontier in American food production and the students of Henrico County’s Fairfield Middle School are helping lead the way in making fresh, healthy produce more available in their community. What started as an after-hours enrichment program in 2012 has evolved into the five-acre Cornerstone Farm operated in partnership with the nonprofit Community Food Collaborative. This team has donated hundreds of pounds of fruits and vegetables to Fairfield staff, students and local residents and is now one of 17 flagship People’s Gardens launched nationwide to revitalize this popular initiative. NRCS will contribute technical assistance and $25,000 in funding to expand the growing area and create community plots where residents can learn to grow their own food in the months and years ahead. The People’s Garden will also support pollinator and wildlife habitat and offer greenspaces for public enjoyment. I was privileged to join Principal Gena Jones in making the announcement to the parents and students on June 1 and look forward to supporting this effort to train the next generation of urban gardeners. Visit the People’s Gardens Initiative web page to learn more about this effort to establish more resilient local food systems. More details on Cornerstone Farm are available on the Community Food Collaborative website. Dr. Edwin Martinez Martinez, State Conservationist USDA Expands Farmers.gov to Include Farm RecordsProducers with farmers.gov accounts can now access farm records and maps online, the latest self-service feature added to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) website. You can quickly and easily access your land information in real time by desktop computer, tablet or phone. Capabilities include:
The ability to access these records on demand without a visit to the service center saves you time and money. Farmers.gov now includes the most popular functionalities from FSAFarm+, the FSA portal for producers, while providing enhanced functionality and an improved user experience. A new enhancement expands the scope of accessibility to include farmers and ranchers who are members of an entity, as well as people with a power of attorney form (FSA-211) on file with FSA. Managing USDA Business Online Using farmers.gov, producers, entities and those acting on their behalf can also:
Future plans include adding the ability to import and view other shapefiles, such as precision agriculture planting boundaries. To access your information, you’ll will need a USDA eAuth account to login to farmers.gov. After obtaining an eAuth account, producers should visit farmers.gov and sign into the site’s authenticated portal via the Sign In/Sign Up link at the top right of the website. Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox or Microsoft Edge are the recommended browsers to access the feature. In addition to the self-service features available by logging into farmers.gov, the website also has ample information on USDA programs, including pandemic assistance, farm loans, disaster assistance, conservation programs and crop insurance. Recently, USDA updated the navigation and organization of the site as well as added some new webpages, including “Get Involved,” “Common Forms,” and “Translations.” Learn more about these changes. Update Your RecordsFSA is cleaning up our producer record database and needs your help. Please report any changes of address, zip code, phone number, email address or an incorrect name or business name on file to our office. You should also report changes in your farm operation, like the addition of a farm by lease or purchase. You should also report any changes to your operation in which you reorganize to form a Trust, LLC or other legal entity. FSA and NRCS program participants are required to promptly report changes in their farming operation to the County Committee in writing and to update their Farm Operating Plan on form CCC-902. To update your records, contact your County USDA Service Center. Top 6 Emergency Relief Program Checklist Items for Eligible FarmersFSA recently began mailing 303,000 pre-filled applications for the Emergency Relief Program (ERP), a new program designed to help agricultural producers impacted by wildfires, droughts, hurricanes, winter storms, and other qualifying natural disasters experienced during calendar years 2020 and 2021. The past few years have been tough to say the least. As producers have dealt with the continued impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, they have also struggled to recover from more frequent, more intense natural disasters. I am grateful that Congress passed, and President Biden signed into law the Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance Act (P.L. 117-43), which includes $10 billion in critical emergency relief. After extensive stakeholder outreach, including with producers and groups that have not always been included in USDA programs, our team began work developing a responsive, easier-to-access program that could be rolled out in phases. We’re now rolling out the first phase of ERP, which uses existing Federal Crop Insurance or Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) data as the basis for calculating initial payments. By leveraging existing data, we will be able to deliver approximately $6 billion in assistance on a faster timeline; at the same time, my team and I are committed to ensuring that producers who do not have existing data on file with USDA are captured in the second phase of ERP, which will be explicitly focused on filling gaps in previously implemented emergency assistance. To apply for ERP Phase 1, here’s what you need to do:
The form being mailed to you includes eligibility requirements, outlines the application process, and provides estimated ERP payment calculations. Producers will receive a separate application form for each program year in which an eligible loss occurred. Receipt of a pre-filled application is not confirmation that a producer is eligible to receive an ERP phase one payment. This application takes about 0.176 hours (that’s less than 15 minutes) for producers to complete, compared to the former Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program – Plus application which took several hours for producers to complete and even longer for FSA staff. The deadline to return completed ERP applications to FSA is Friday, July 22, 2022. If you have NAP coverage, you will receive pre-filled ERP applications later this summer. Details on ERP Phase 2 will be forthcoming as well.
ERP covers losses to crops, trees, bushes, and vines due to a qualifying natural disaster event in calendar years 2020 and 2021. Eligible crops include all crops for which crop insurance or NAP coverage was available, except for crops intended for grazing. Qualifying natural disaster events include wildfires, hurricanes, floods, derechos, excessive heat, winter storms, freeze (including a polar vortex), smoke exposure, excessive moisture, qualifying drought*, and related conditions. *Lists of 2020 and 2021 drought counties eligible for ERP are available online.
Producers must have the following forms on file with FSA:
If you have previously participated in FSA programs, you will likely have these required forms on file. However, if you’re uncertain or want to confirm the status of your forms, contact your local FSA county office.
The ERP payment percentage for historically underserved producers, including beginning, limited resource, socially disadvantaged, and veteran farmers, and ranchers will be increased by 15% of the calculated ERP payment. To qualify for the higher payment percentage, eligible producers must have the following form on file with FSA:
All producers who receive ERP phase one payments are statutorily required to purchase crop insurance, or NAP coverage where crop insurance is not available, for the next two available crop years, as determined by the Secretary. Coverage requirements will be determined from the date a producer receives an ERP payment and may vary depending on the timing and availability of crop insurance or NAP for a producer’s particular crops. The final crop year to purchase crop insurance or NAP coverage to meet the second year of coverage for this requirement is the 2026 crop year.
Once the completed ERP application for payment is submitted to and signed by FSA, producers who have direct deposit should look for payment within three business days. More Information We have additional resources, including:
In addition to ERP, FSA is also implementing the first phase of the new Emergency Livestock Relief Program. At this time, FSA has made more than $588 million in payments to impacted livestock producers. Bottom line, we take your feedback seriously, and we wanted to deliver this relief as soon as possible. We learned from previous relief programs, and we’re excited to be getting this to you as swiftly as we can. USDA to Provide $6 billion to Commodity and Specialty Crop Producers Impacted by 2020 and 2021 Natural DisastersThe U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced that commodity and specialty crop producers impacted by natural disaster events in 2020 and 2021 will soon begin receiving emergency relief payments totaling approximately $6 billion through the Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) new Emergency Relief Program (ERP) to offset crop yield and value losses. Background On September 30, 2021, President Biden signed into law the Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance Act (P.L. 117-43), which includes $10 billion in assistance to agricultural producers impacted by wildfires, droughts, hurricanes, winter storms, and other eligible disasters experienced during calendar years 2020 and 2021. FSA recently made payments to ranchers impacted by drought and wildfire through the first phase of the Emergency Livestock Relief Program (ELRP). ERP is another relief component of the Act. For impacted producers, existing Federal Crop Insurance or Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) data is the basis for calculating initial payments. USDA estimates that phase one ERP benefits will reach more than 220,000 producers who received indemnities for losses covered by federal crop insurance and more than 4,000 producers who obtained NAP coverage for 2020 and 2021 crop losses. ERP Eligibility – Phase One ERP covers losses to crops, trees, bushes, and vines due to a qualifying natural disaster event in calendar years 2020 and 2021. Eligible crops include all crops for which crop insurance or NAP coverage was available, except for crops intended for grazing. Qualifying natural disaster events include wildfires, hurricanes, floods, derechos, excessive heat, winter storms, freeze (including a polar vortex), smoke exposure, excessive moisture, qualifying drought, and related conditions. For drought, ERP assistance is available if any area within the county in which the loss occurred was rated by the U.S. Drought Monitor as having a:
Lists of 2020 and 2021 drought counties eligible for ERP is available on the emergency relief website. To streamline and simplify the delivery of ERP phase one benefits, FSA will send pre-filled application forms to producers where crop insurance and NAP data are already on file. This form includes eligibility requirements, outlines the application process and provides ERP payment calculations. Producers will receive a separate application form for each program year in which an eligible loss occurred. Receipt of a pre-filled application is not confirmation that a producer is eligible to receive an ERP phase one payment. Additionally, producers must have the following forms on file with FSA within 60 days of the ERP phase one deadline, which will later be announced by FSA’s Deputy Administrator for Farm Programs:
Most producers, especially those who have previously participated in FSA programs, will likely have these required forms on file. However, those who are uncertain or want to confirm the status of their forms can contact their local FSA county office. ERP Payment Calculations – Phase One For crops covered by crop insurance, the ERP phase one payment calculation for a crop and unit will depend on the type and level of coverage obtained by the producer. Each calculation will use an ERP factor based on the producer’s level of crop insurance or NAP coverage.
Full ERP payment calculation factor tables are available on the emergency relief website and in the program |
