USDA Update

By Rod Johnson

November 26, 2004

Moisture conditions as we go into the winter months remain favorable with 1.75 inches of precipitation being reported at the Eads weather station in the center of the county. Average precipitation for Eads in November is only .54 inches and the November through February average is 1.33 inches so we are currently doing well.

NRCS has announced that the ending date for taking 2005 Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP) signup is December 17^th 2004. EQIP is a cost share program that provides assistance to producers to apply conservation practices to their land. Applications will be ranked and tentative funding awards to high priority contracts will be announced toward the end of March. Come visit with the NRCS employees to learn more.

Election ballots have been mailed for the county committee election in Administrative Area #3 (Haswell/Arlington area). Please note that Power of Attorneys do not work for County Committee election ballots. Voters have until Dec. 6 to have their ballots postmarked or returned to the county office. No person shall be denied the right to vote because of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation or marital or family status. The County Committee will count ballots on Friday, December 10.

Do not forget, if you have grain under Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) loan it cannot be removed without prior authorization or repayment. Unauthorized removal, which includes removal for cleaning for seed or planting, is considered a violation and is subject to monetary and administrative penalties. If grain under loan has been disposed of through feeding, selling or any other form of disposal without prior written authorization from the county office staff, it is considered unauthorized disposition. The financial penalties are severe and a producer’s name will be placed on a loan violation list for a two-year period. Always call the office before any loan grain is fed or sold. Your loans are subject to spot check. Determined shortages must be repaid with principal plus interest, and additional monetary penalties plus loss of future loan eligibility may apply. Producers planning to remove or clean CCC loan grain should contact the county office staff for additional information.

Telephone 719-438-5851 FSA (Ext 2), NRCS (Ext 3). E-mail individuals firstname.lastname@ co.usda.gov (Example rod.johnson@co.usda.gov, , walt.immer, nadene.gaynor, dawna.weirich, charla.ferris, marvin.watson, marlin.miller, brett.jones) Kiowa County FSA Web Site – http://www.fsa.usda.gov/co/County%20Webs/Kiowa_county.htm