Farm Service Agency April 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

CCC is amending the regulations for the Direct and Counter- cyclical Payment Program (DCP) for the 2008 through 2012 crop years and Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) Program for the 2009 through 2012 crop years. The amendments clarify various provisions in the regulations and extend benefits to additional producers. This rule extends the eligibility for farms of less than 10 base acres from farms wholly owned by socially disadvantaged or limited resource producers to farms that are at least half owned by such producers. It removes a provision terminating base acres on Federally-owned land, which will effectively extend DCP and ACRE Program eligibility to producers who lease or purchase such land. Clarifying amendments specify the extended 2009 crop year enrollment and election period, simplify acreage and production reporting requirements, correct contract termination provisions, and add 2009 through 2012 loan rates. This rule also makes several clarifying amendments to the regulations for the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP) and the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP), the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments Program (SURE) and the Marketing Assistance Loans (MAL) and Loan Deficiency Payments (LDP) Programs. It clarifies eligibility requirements for foreign persons for CCC and FSA programs.

The Farm Service Agency (FSA) is requesting applications for competitive cooperative agreement funds for Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 for the credit outreach initiative targeted to American Indian and Alaska Native farmers, ranchers, and youth residing primarily on Indian reservations within the contiguous United States and in Alaska. There is $400,000 available in funding for the remainder of FY 2010. FSA will make one award to a successful applicant through a cooperative agreement. FSA requests proposals from eligible nonprofit organizations, land-grant institutions, and federally-recognized Indian tribal governments interested in a competitively-awarded cooperative agreement to create and implement a mechanism that will provide credit outreach and promotion, pre-loan education, and one-on-one loan application preparation assistance to American Indian and Alaska Native farmers, ranchers, and youth. Successful proposals may include other innovative services intended to enhance participation by American Indians and Alaska Natives in specific FSA Agricultural Credit Programs and other relevant credit programs available to American Indian and Alaska Native producers.