Wisconsin Ag Connection - FSA Leader on Important Sign-up Reminders, Program Deadlines

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FSA Leader on Important Sign-up Reminders, Program Deadlines
By: Sandy Chalmers, Director of WI Farm Service Agency - 08/07/2020

First off, I want to send a huge thank you to our Wisconsin FSA customers. This has been a stressful and challenging time for American agriculture, and FSA has been tasked with providing assistance and flexibility to help soften the impacts of COVID. We appreciate the patience and willingness of our producers to move to new ways of interacting with FSA employees, while the usual face-to-face appointments are not possible. We are getting especially positive feedback from producers on the use of electronic signatures, which saves a trip to the office and shortens turnaround times.

If you have not yet signed up for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP), remember that the deadline is rapidly approaching. Wisconsin continues to rank fourth in the nation in CFAP payments, with $389.3 million in this critical assistance paid on 15,360 applications. CFAP is not a grant or loan program -- it provides direct cash payments to producers impacted by COVID and market impacts. There is no minimum income requirement to participate in FSA programs.

If you know a beef, hog, or specialty crop producer who may not have regular interaction with FSA, please let them know about CFAP. I also encourage every dairy operation to sign up -- about 70 percent of the CFAP payments in Wisconsin are on milk production. More information can be found at farmers.gov/cfap.

Because of the pandemic, producers have until August 14 to file their acreage reports without paying late fees. If you receive an envelope or voice message from your FSA office, please respond right away -- we are reminding you that acreage reports must be signed and returned to FSA to be complete.

Producers must file a timely acreage report to be eligible for FSA programs, and late fees can quickly add up to several thousand dollars. Please take care of this right away -- it will save you money and keep you eligible for FSA programs.

Have a great August, and we hope to see you again soon.

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