USDA Update

By Rod Johnson

Due to the Kiowa County Fair, the FSA and NRCS offices will be short staffed on Thursday (9th) and Friday (10th). Make sure you get out and enjoy the fair festivities.

EWE LAMB REPLACEMENT and RETENTION PAYMENT PROGRAM (ELRRPP)

The ELRRP proposed rule with request for comments was published in the Federal Register on September 7, 2004. The published regulation is provided at 7 CFR Part 784. Now that the ELRRPP regulation has been published, there is a 30-day public comment period on the proposed rule and a 60-day public comment period on the information collected on the application form. The ELRRPP information collection package has not been approved by the Office of Management and Budget. Therefore, the application form, FSA-384, is not available and the application sign-up period for program benefits has not been determined.

If you have sold your 2004 crop year white wheat, bring in the sales receipt to complete the application for the White Wheat Incentive Payment. The sales receipts must show the buyer, seller(s), and the bushels sold. The receipt must also indicate that the wheat is "WHITE", and grade #2 or better.

Tempel Grain is in the final processes of leasing the Eads Consumers Supply, Haswell Elevator. We don’t have all of the information on the change at this time, but have talked to representatives of both Tempel Grain and Eads Consumers and been informed that the lease became effective as of August 9, 2004.