NEWS

Farm Service Agency

Public Affairs Staff

1400 Independence Ave SW

Stop 0506, Room 3624-South

Washington, D.C. 20250-0506

WASHINGTON, July 12, 2007 - U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency (FSA) Administrator Teresa Lasseter today announced that farmers and other landowners with base acres and yields have until Aug. 3, 2007, to enroll in the 2007 Direct and Counter-cyclical Payment Program (DCP).

"The deadline to enroll in the 2007 Direct and Counter-cyclical Payment Program is rapidly approaching," said Lasseter. "I encourage all eligible producers to enroll in DCP before the August 3 deadline to avoid paying the late fee."

In March 2007, FSA extended the DCP sign-up deadline to Aug. 3, 2007. The original DCP enrollment deadline was June 1, 2007. Producers failing to sign up by Aug. 3, 2007, but before Sept. 30, 2007, will pay a late-file fee of $100. The final date to enroll in the 2007 DCP is Sept. 30, 2007. Enrollment in DCP for the 2007 contract period began Oct. 1, 2006.

DCP provides payments to eligible producers on farms enrolled for the 2002 through 2007 crop years. There are two types of DCP payments - direct payments and counter-cyclical payments. USDA computes payments using the base acres and payment yields established for the farm. The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (2002 Farm Bill) authorized DCP.

More information about DCP is available in the program fact sheet found online at: http://www.fsa.usda.gov/Internet/FSA_File/dcp06.pdf. For more information on FSA programs, visit your local USDA Service Center or the agency's Web site, http://www.fsa.usda.gov.