Farm Service Agency – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act requirement, the Farm Service Agency (FSA) is requesting comments from all interested individuals and organizations on an extension of a currently approved information collection to continue WHIP and the QLA Program. FSA provides payments to eligible producers who suffered eligible crop, tree, bush, and vine losses resulting from a qualifying disaster event. FSA also administers the QLA Program to provide financial assistance to eligible producers who experienced a crop quality loss due to a qualifying disaster event in calendar years 2018 or 2019. The application periods for WHIP and the QLA Program have ended; however, the collection is continuing for additional information that may be needed to verify compliance with program eligibility requirements.

The Farm Service Agency (FSA) is announcing the availability of marketing assistance funding to organic dairy operations in the United States. The organic dairy farms have facedand still continue to facea variety of challenges, and many are struggling to remain organic dairy operations, which is why FSA is issuing this notice to provide marketing assistance payments to eligible organic dairy operations to help expand the market for organic dairy and increase the consumption of organic dairy. ODMAP 2024 will provide payments to assist organic dairy operations with projected marketing costs for 2024.

The Farm Service Agency (FSA) is issuing this notice to announce the actions it is taking to comply with a preliminary injunction related to payment calculations for ERP 2022.

The Farm Service Agency (FSA) is announcing the availability of $19 million through the new Food Safety Certification for Specialty Crops Program (FSCSC) for specialty crop operations that incur eligible on-farm food safety program expenses to obtain or renew a food safety certification in calendar years 2024 and 2025. To be eligible for assistance with expenses related to a 2024 food safety certification, the certification must have been issued on or after June 26, 2024. Specialty crop operations incur significant costs to comply with regulatory requirements and market-driven food safety certification requirements each year with little opportunity to recover the increased costs. In this document, FSA is providing the eligibility requirements, application process, and payment calculation for FSCSC.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act requirement, the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), and Farm Service Agency (FSA) are requesting comments from all interested individuals and organizations on a revision and an extension of a currently approved information collection.

The Further Continuing Appropriations and Other Extensions Act, 2024, extended the authorization of the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 Farm Bill), through September 30, 2024, for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), a Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) program administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA). This notice provides information about CRP, which has been extended until September 30, 2024. CRP will be administered by and through its current terms and procedures.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Farm Service Agency (FSA) is requesting comments from all interested individuals and organizations on an extension of a currently approved information collection associated with the Volunteer Program.

The Farm Service Agency (FSA) is requesting information on proposed revisions to the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act Report (FSA-153 form). The FSA-153 requires updating. Specifically, the FSA-153 form needs clarification and updating to ensure that foreign owners (or long-term lessees) who are required to file the FSA- 153 form have clear instructions and that USDA is collecting the most precise and meaningful data, so that the report to Congress is as accurate and insightful as possible. Foreign owners are investors who buy, sell, or hold a direct or indirect interest in U.S. agricultural land (or who hold long-term leases on agricultural land) and must report their holdings and transactions to USDA on the FSA-153 form. USDA uses the information on the submitted forms to generate the report that it submits to Congress. FSA is moving towards modernizing the collection of information process, clarifying and modernizing the FSA- 153 form, and if funding becomes available, creating an electronic submission system that will allow foreign owners to report by filing electronically. In addition, this document requests public input for our plan to revise not only the information request, but ultimately, the regulation (which will likely result in further modifications at a later date to the FSA-153 form).

The Farm Service Agency (FSA) is issuing this notice announcing ERP 2022, which will provide payments to eligible crop producers for losses due to qualifying disaster events including wildfires, hurricanes, floods, derechos, excessive heat, tornadoes, winter storms, freeze (including a polar vortex), smoke exposure, excessive moisture, qualifying drought, and related conditions that occurred in calendar year 2022. ERP 2022 will be administered through 2 tracks (referred to as Track 1 and Track 2). Track 1 will assist eligible crop producers who received indemnities for eligible crop or tree losses through certain Federal crop insurance policies or payments for crop losses through the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP). Track 2 will assist eligible crop producers for other eligible crop and tree losses through a revenue-based approach.

The Farm Service Agency (FSA) is issuing this notice announcing ELRP Phase 2. This document provides the eligibility requirements and payment calculation for the second phase of ELRP assistance. ELRP Phase 2 will provide assistance to eligible livestock producers for the loss of the value of winter forage from the deterioration of grazing cover due to a qualifying drought or wildfire during the 2021 normal grazing period, which has been exacerbated by a continued lack of precipitation. This document also makes a correction and amendment to ELRP Phase 1.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Farm Service Agency (FSA) is requesting comments from all interested individuals and organizations on a revision of a currently approved information collection that supports the Certified State Mediation Program. The information collection is necessary to ensure that the grant program is administered properly. The collection of information is used to determine whether participants meet the eligibility requirements to be a recipient of grant funds. Lack of adequate information to make the determination could result in the improper administration of Federal grant funds.

This rule establishes provisions for providing agricultural disaster assistance as authorized by the Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance Act of 2021 and the Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2023. The assistance will be for 2020, 2021, and 2022 milk losses. The Milk Loss Program will provide payments to eligible dairy operations for milk that was dumped or removed without compensation from the commercial milk market due to disaster events including droughts, wildfires, hurricanes, floods, derechos, excessive heat, winter storms, freeze (including a polar vortex), and smoke exposure that occurred in the 2020, 2021, and 2022 calendar years. Additionally, the Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2023, also authorizes assistance for eligible milk losses due to tornadoes that occurred in 2022. This rule specifies the administrative provisions, eligibility requirements, application procedures, and payment calculations for the Milk Loss Program. This rule also makes corrections to Phase 2 of the Emergency Relief Program (ERP).

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Farm Service Agency (FSA) is requesting comments from all interested individuals and organizations on a revision of currently approved information collection associated with the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) and Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP). The revision will include new forms related to ECP that will accompany new software to be implemented fiscal year 2024. The existing forms for prior ECP contracts will remain in use until contracts executed prior to fiscal year 2024 are closed.

The Farm Service Agency (FSA) is announcing a pilot program called ``Application Fast Track'' that will expedite the processing of direct Operating Loans (OL) and Farm Ownership Loans (FO) to family farmers and ranchers if qualified. The Application Fast Track Pilot Program (AFT) provides an alternative underwriting process for applicants that meet certain financial benchmarks. AFT will be available in selected pilot office locations beginning August 7, 2023, and will be available in all locations nationwide beginning January 1, 2024. AFT will run through September 30, 2024. The Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (CONACT) authorizes pilot projects of limited scope and duration to evaluate processes and techniques to improve program efficiency and effectiveness.

The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) and the Farm Service Agency (FSA) are making technical corrections to certain regulations that were published on January 11, 2023. These technical corrections will be made to: Phase 2 of the Emergency Relief Program (ERP); the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP); and the Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP).

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) requirement, the Farm Service Agency (FSA) is requesting comments from all interested individuals and organizations on the two Farm Loan Programs' information collection requests. FSA is also requesting an extension with a revision for those currently approved information collection requests. The two collection requests in the Farm Loan Programs are: Guaranteed Farm Loan Program and General Program Administration. In the General Program Administration, the information collected is used to ensure that applicants meet statutory eligibility requirements, loan funds are used for authorized purposes, and the Government's interest in security is adequately protected. In the Guaranteed Farm Loan Program, the collected information is needed to make and service loans guaranteed by FSA to eligible farmers and ranchers by commercial lenders and nontraditional lenders.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act requirement, the Farm Service Agency (FSA) is requesting comments from all interested individuals and organizations on an extension and a revision of a currently approved information collection associated with the form of the Power of Attorney. This information collection is used to support the FSA, Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) and Risk Management Agency (RMA) in conducting business and accepting signatures on certain documents from individuals acting on behalf of other individuals or entities.

The Farm Service Agency (FSA) is announcing the availability of funding to assist grain producers because eligible disaster events damaged or destroyed local commercial grain facilities. To assist producers in the impacted areas, FSA will provide financial assistance under the Emergency Grain Storage Facility Assistance Program (EGSFP). Eligible grain producers in affected counties impacted by eligible disaster events that damaged or destroyed local commercial grain elevators from December 1, 2021, to August 1, 2022, may be eligible for cost-share assistance to construct needed storage facilities to meet on-farm grain storage capacity and handling needs necessary to support the marketing of grain. Grain producers in affected counties in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee and any other affected counties as determined and announced by the Deputy Administrator for Farm Programs (DAFP) are eligible to apply.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Farm Service Agency (FSA) is requesting comments from all interested individuals and organizations on an information collection request associated with the Increasing Land, Capital, and Market Access grant and cooperative agreement activity. The purpose of the Increasing Land, Capital, and Market Access Program is to fund projects that support a diverse set of farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners (producers) on the edge financially; moving them from surviving to thriving as they address core barriers to attain land, capital, and market access.

The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) and the Farm Service Agency (FSA) are making a correction to the notice that was published on December 6, 2022. We are making a minor correction specifically in the description of the information collection request section to correct a typographical error in a number.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Farm Service Agency (FSA) is requesting comments from all interested individuals and organizations on an extension of a current information collection request associated with the Organic Certification Cost Share Program (OCCSP). OCCSP provides cost share assistance to producers and handlers of agricultural products who are obtaining or renewing their certification under the National Organic Program (NOP). Certified operations may receive up to 50 percent of their certification costs paid, up to a maximum of $500 for each of the following scopes: crops, wild crops, livestock, processing/handling, and State organic program fees. Certain State agencies also submit applications to FSA to administer OCCSP in their States.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Farm Service Agency (FSA) is requesting comments from all interested individuals and organizations on a revision and an extension of the information collection associated with online and in-person registration for FSA-hosted events and conferences. The information collection is needed for FSA to obtain information from the respondents who register on the internet to access and make preparation for participation in events, and when necessary, to make payment and reservations to attend any FSA-hosted conferences and events. Additionally, the demographic data collected through this information collection assists FSA in monitoring its outreach and engagement of farmers and ranchers.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, the Farm Service Agency (FSA) is requesting comments from all interested individuals and organizations on a revision and an extension of a currently approved information collection associated with Direct Loan Making Program. The collected information is used in eligibility and feasibility determinations on farm loan applications.

The Farm Service Agency (FSA) is amending the definition of ``income derived from farming, ranching, and forestry operations'' for ELRP and ERP and clarifying policy around the filing of certifications of average adjusted gross farm income. FSA is clarifying the ERP Phase 1 policy related to producers who received both a crop insurance indemnity and a Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) payment. FSA is also amending ERP Phase 1 to include eligibility for Federal Crop Insurance policies with an intended use for nursery.

The Farm Service Agency (FSA) amends the Farm Loan Programs (FLP) regulations to implement certain provisions authorized by the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 Farm Bill). This rule revises the provisions on FLP loan limits, allows additional flexibility for loan applicants to meet the required farming experience, provides higher guarantee rates for lenders to provide credit to beginning farmers and socially disadvantaged farmers, provides additional program benefits for veterans, provides equitable relief to certain borrowers, allows borrowers who have received debt restructuring with a write down to receive Emergency loans (EM), and expands those issues that are covered under the agricultural Certified Mediation Program. In addition to the 2018 Farm Bill changes, FSA also amends the regulations for loan servicing relating to accepting cash payments and establishing a fee for dishonored checks; these are discretionary changes. The result of these changes will increase loan limits or improve the various loan programs to relieve some restrictions to participation or otherwise encourage participation. This rule also revises the way FSA will establish the maximum interest rates in response to the discontinuing publication of the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) interest rates. The result of these changes will enable FSA to provide clearer guidance on maximum interest rates and allow for more consistency across all lenders participating in the guaranteed loan program. In addition, this rule corrects references to supervised credit in the regulations.