USDA Update

By Rod Johnson

September 3, 2004

Wheat planting is getting into full swing with moisture and planting conditions in most areas very favorable. Fields that have lost nearly all crop residues due to multiple years of drought are a problem but hopefully, adequate moisture will allow good emergence of winter wheat to get the ground covered. Grain sorghum continues to lag behind due to the cool weather this summer. Much of the dryland corn, sunflowers and millet look very good. Enjoy the KIOWA COUNTY FAIR next week.

Offices in the USDA Service Center, along with other Federal, State and local offices will be closed on Monday, September 6, in observance of the Labor Day Holiday. The week following the Labor Day Holiday is the Kiowa County Fair. The FSA and NRCS Offices will be very short-staffed during Fair so it would be best if you could schedule visits to the offices before or after that week.

Due to finally receiving adequate rain this summer, several CRP fields have significant production of grass seed. Grass seed may NOT be harvested prior to haying. Harvesting of grass seed is a violation of the CRP agreement and can result in substantial payment reductions or even contract termination. Remember, if you want to hay a portion of your CRP, you must request authority from the FSA Office before beginning.

If you are raising NAP (Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program) crops, be sure to furnish the office verifiable and reliable production records, even if you do not have a loss. If you fail to furnish production records, it will have an adverse affect on your yield in future years. If production is sold to a commercial buyer you will have receipts or settlement sheets. If you have crops that you will be feeding on the farm such as forage sorghum or millet hay, you may want to request a measurement service after baling the production. If you have a NAP crop that will be left in the field or grazed, an appraisal may be required.

We continually get questions asking if there will be another crop disaster program similar to the 2001/2002 Crop Disaster Program of a year ago. We have seen virtually nothing about this issue. It would be up to the Congress of the United States to pass legislation and I am not aware of any pending legislation on this issue.

The interest rate for commodity loans disbursed in September is 3.00% per annum. The interest rate for Farm Stored Facility Loans approved in September is 4.00% per annum.