The U.S. Department of Agriculture is reminding farm landowners to review their newly assigned base acres before an important August 31st deadline.
Probably the best bet, if you do have questions, would be to go to the FSA office in the county in which you own land and get a further clarification or if there’s something you don’t understand or you have a question about, have that answered. Because if you do nothing, those base acres will transfer and be the permanent record of your farm.” Says USDA Undersecretary for Farm Production and Conservation, Richard Fordyce.
The review follows what USDA calls a historic expansion of the farm safety net, designed to strengthen support for producers through commodity programs.
As Fordyce mentioned, once the deadline passes, those base acre assignments will become part of the farm’s permanent record and could affect future program benefits.
According to Jennifer Ifft, an agricultural policy specialist, “there’s a good chance if you miss out then you could lose out on this opportunity to benefit from commodity programs.”
If you received a base acre notice from USDA, don’t set it aside. Review the information now and contact your local FSA office before the August 31st deadline to ensure your farm records are correct.
