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Farmers Behind In USDA Farm Program Sign Ups

Now that the April 15 income tax deadline has passed, there’s another deadline looming for the nation’s farmers. According to Agriculture Online, more than half of farmers are currently at risk of falling out of USDA farm programs unless they go to their Farm Service Agency (FSA) office by June 1 to sign up for 2010.

As of Monday, April 5, about 53% of Iowa’s farms were enrolled in farm programs for 2010. “Normally, getting ready to go into the planting season, I would guess we should be in the range of 70%,” said Kevin McClure, agricultural program specialist at the Iowa FSA office.

In Nebraska, only 44% of the farms enrolled in the Direct and Counter-cyclical Program (DCP) last year have signed up, said program specialist Doug Klein. And 53% of those in the new Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) program have either signed up again or enrolled for the first time.

Minnesota is even further behind, at about 41% DCP sign up as of April 2. The national sign up for the DCP is only at 37%.

Filling out forms for FSA is an annual chore but this year it’s earlier than the past two years. The deadline last year was August 14, when USDA launched the new ACRE program. Sign up was delayed in 2008 as well to allow FSA to adjust to the new farm bill.

FSA officials acknowledge that the red tape and information required at sign up are increasingly unpopular. This year farmers have to sign a form authorizing the Internal Revenue Service to notify USDA if a producer doesn’t meet the income guideline to qualify for farm programs. For farmers that income test is quite high at $750,000, not in gross sales, but the adjusted gross income reported on your tax return.

Producers have also been worried that their tax records might become public somehow at the FSA office, which could also be an additional reason sign up is delayed. McClure has continued to urge farmers in Iowa to sign up, saying that their tax records will in no way become public.