Agriculture Casework FAQ
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USDA Appeals
I received a letter from the local USDA County
Office informing me that I am ineligible for program benefits or my application
was denied. What can I do?
County Disaster Declarations
How do I find out if the Secretary of Agriculture or President
have declared my county a disaster area? What programs will be made available?
Emergency Release of CRP for Haying and Grazing
During times of shortage, the Secretary of Agriculture
may allow emergency haying and grazing of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)
contracts. What is the process to get haying of grazing of CRP approved in
my county?
I understand that Conservation Reserve Program
(CRP) contracts may be hayed or grazed without obtaining approval of the Secretary.
What is involved in ‘managed haying or grazing?
How do I get my county approved for emergency haying
and grazing of CRP?
I heard on the radio that every county is now open
for haying and grazing of CRP. Our county is not an approved county, can I
hay or graze CRP?
What does it cost?
In an approved county, when may I begin haying?
How are CP-23 CRP Contracts treated differently?
Waiting for managed provisions with a haying date
of August 2nd will be too late, can't we hay right now?
Farm Lending through the Farm Service
Agency
My Farm Service Agency loan (direct or guaranteed) was approved,
but funding was exhausted and the loan has not been funded. Can I expect funding
to become available any time soon?
When faced with quitting farming or filing for bankruptcy,
USDA offered to reduce the debt on my FmHA loans in return for signing a Shared
Appreciation Agreement (SAA). I thought the agreement would expire at the
end of ten years, but the Farm Service Agency has informed me that they will
calculate the amount due and notify me of what I have to pay. What can I do
about this situation?
Crop Insurance
Because the Risk Management Agency (RMA) has restrictions on
the use of written agreements for crop insurance, my written agreement was
not renewed. How can I obtain protection for my crop?
Where can I find out more about the Federal Crop Insurance
Program?
Where can I find information on the Non-Insured Assistance
Program (NAP)?
Where can I find copies of Farm Service Agency (FSA), Foreign
Agricultural Service (FAS), or Risk Management Agency (RMA) program notices?
USDA Appeals
I received a letter from the local USDA County Office
informing me that I am ineligible for program benefits or my application was
denied. What can I do?
Your course of action depends somewhat upon the Agency you are dealing
with and the program involved. Generally, an applicant who has received
an adverse decision from a USDA agency may either: 1) ask for reconsideration;
2) request mediation; or 3) appeal the decision to the National Appeals
Division (NAD) of USDA.
The Farm Service Agency appeal procedures vary
between Farm Loan Programs and general Farm Programs.
A producer may ask for reconsideration of a farm loan decision
to the loan officer making the decision, ask for formal mediation, or appeal
directly to NAD. It is usually recommended to utilize the options of reconsideration
and mediation prior to filing for a formal appeal.
Producers may appeal a general farm program decision to
the locally elected FSA County Committee, apply for mediation, or appeal
directly to NAD. In most circumstances, it is advisable to appeal the decision
to the County Committee. Often, this locally elected committee of farmers
can find in the producers favor, offer reasonable relief measures,
or ask for relief on the producers behalf to a higher authority within
the Agency.
If you are unsuccessful with either the County or State FSA Committees,
you still retain your right to appeal the decision to the NAD.
If, on the other hand, a producer immediately appeals an adverse decision
to and receives a final determination from the NAD, that decision is binding
on the Agency. Therefore, further requests to achieve relief through the
Agency are no longer possible. While the NAD does have equitable relief
authority, it seldom uses it.
You can find FSA handbook appeals information at the North
Dakota FSA Website.
The Natural Resources Conservation Service provides
excellent appeals related information on their
Web site.
The Risk Management Agency does not issue adverse
crop insurance decisions to producers. The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation
‘reinsures crop insurance policies issued by private companies.
Therefore, when an insurance company denies a claim, the insured should
refer to their crop insurance policy for methods, such as arbitration, to
resolve the dispute.
RMA doesn't have an appeal or reconsideration process available to handle
disputes that may arise between farmers who participate in the Federal crop
insurance program and their agents and insurance companies.
County Disaster Declarations
How do I find out if the Secretary of Agriculture or
President have declared my county a disaster area? What programs will be made
available?
Farmers and ranchers who live in counties designated as disaster areas
by the President or Secretary of Agriculture may be eligible for Emergency
Loans for production or physical losses. Additional requirements for Emergency
Loans through the Farm Service Agency may be viewed at: http://disaster.fsa.usda.gov/emloan.htm
Agriculturally dependent businesses may also apply for Economic Injury
Loans through the Small Business Administration if they are located in counties
covered by a Secretarial disaster designation. For more information on the
Economic Injury Loan program visit SBA's
Web site.
Crop Disaster Programs are not triggered by disaster
declarations. Crop disaster programs are authorized only legislation
specific to a crop year is approved by Congress and signed by the President.
Emergency Release of CRP for Haying and Grazing
During times of shortage, the Secretary of Agriculture
may allow emergency haying and grazing of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)
contracts. What is the process to get haying of grazing of CRP approved in
my county?
Producers are expected to first contact their locally elected Farm Service
Agency County Committee to justify the release of CRP acreage for emergency
purposes. The County Committee may initiate a request to the FSA State Committee.
If they approve the request, the State Committee submits the request to
the FSA Deputy Administrator of Farm Programs for approval.
I understand that Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)
contracts may be hayed or grazed without obtaining approval of the Secretary.
What is involved in ‘managed haying or grazing?
The 2002 farm bill changed the law to allow managed harvesting and grazing
of a portion of contract acres each year. While the Secretary retains authority
to release CRP for haying and grazing in emergency situations, managed haying
and grazing offers an option for producers to utilize this resource without
the need for an emergency use determination by the Secretary. Details include:
- To participate, producers with existing contracts will need to
modify their conservation plans; new conservation plans will include
this option.
- Acreage, including emergency authorizations, may not be hayed
or grazed under managed provisions more than 1 out of every 3 years.
- Contract holders may lease haying or grazing privileges to others.
- Participants will be assessed a payment reduction commensurate with
the economic value of the activity
- Managed haying and grazing may not occur during the primary nesting
season.
- Certain enrollment practices are not eligible for haying and grazing
including CP 23, wetland restoration.
How do I get my county approved for emergency haying
and grazing of CRP?
Contact your local FSA office to appraise them of your moisture and grazing/hay
loss situation. To be approved, USDA is very strict that counties meet the
40% moisture loss (or excess in the case of flooding) and 40% production
loss criteria. Once the county meets the criteria, they request approval
through the FSA State Office and then the FSA national Deputy Administrator
of Farm Programs. USDA believes that since all producers in any county may
utilize "managed" haying and grazing provisons, emergency haying
and grazing will only be approved in the most desperate situations.
I heard on the radio that every county is now open
for haying and grazing of CRP. Our county is not an approved county, can I
hay or graze CRP?
On July 13, 2005 the USDA agreed to allow producers from "approved"
counties to hay in counties within a 150 mile radius of an approved county.
In North Dakota, ALL counties are within a 150 mile radius, so a producer
in an approved county may hay/graze in any county of the state of North
Dakota.
Therefore, unless your county is an approved county, you may not utilize
CRP under emergency provisions.
What does it cost?
USDA assesses a 25% payment reduction to the CRP contract holder. In other
words, if the contract pays $40 per acre the payment reduction would be
25% or $10/acre.
On July 13th, USDA agreed to a 10% payment reduction for emergency haying
and grazing for 2006 in North Dakota.
In an approved county, when may I begin haying?
In North Dakota, the date is set as August 2nd.
For or 2006, however, approved counties may being haying and grazing by
July 15th with the exception of contracts enrolled under the CP-23 practice.
How are CP-23 CRP Contracts treated differently?
CP-23 Contracts MAY NOT be hayed or grazed under "managed" provisions.
On July 13, 2005, the USDA determined to allow CP-23 Contracts in North
Dakota to be available for emergency haying and grazing in 2006. However,
unlike other contracts, haying may not begin on CP-23 contract acres until
August 2nd.
Waiting for managed provisions with a haying date
of August 2nd will be too late, can't we hay right now?
We have asked the Farm Service Agency to synchronize the dates of emergency
and managed haying in North Dakota so that producers in unapproved counties
don't have to wait two weeks to hay utilizing managed haying provisons.
At the present time, no approval for an earlier date for managed haying
or grazing has been approved.
Farm Lending through the Farm Service Agency
My Farm Service Agency loan (direct or guaranteed) was
approved, but funding was exhausted and the loan has not been funded. Can
I expect funding to become available any time soon?
Because loan fund availability is subject to the appropriations process,
a limited amount of funding is available each year. Each state is given
an allocation based on prior loan activities of the state. Once initial
allocations are exhausted for a particular category, the Farm Service Agency
‘stockpiles approved but un-funded loans until funding becomes
available. The FSA may, occasionally, ‘pool resources from
across the nation thus allowing unused funding from one state to fund stockpiled
loans in another. In addition, the Secretary may re-allocate unused funds
in one category of loan to another category where requests have been unfulfilled.
The North
Dakota Farm Service Agency keeps an updated listing of loan fund availability
on their Web site.
When Faced with quitting farming or filing for bankruptcy,
USDA offered to reduce the debt on my FmHA loans in return for signing a Shared
Appreciation Agreement (SAA). I thought the agreement would expire at the
end of ten years, but the Farm Service Agency has informed me that they will
calculate the amount due and notify me of what I have to pay. What can I do
about this situation?
Several lawsuits have been filed against USDA over whether or not SAAs
were to expire or mature. To date, the courts have favored USDAs
position that upon maturity, the Shared Appreciation Amount will be calculated
and the resulting amount is due and payable.
Although this issue was a topic during farm bill discussions, several efforts
to revise USDA policy were rejected. The farm bill did allow debts arising
from SAAs to be rescheduled or re-amortized in through the same servicing
processes available for other FSA farm loans, however.
Crop Insurance
Because the Risk Management Agency (RMA) has restrictions
on the use of written agreements for crop insurance, my written agreement
was not renewed. How can I obtain protection for my crop?
Section 3N of the Written Agreement Handbook (available on RMA's website)
does not allow approval of written agreements if, during the years an agreement
is in force, the cumulative loss ratio for the acreage insured equals or
exceeds 3.0, there is a minimum of 2 crop years in which an indemnity paid
exceeded total premium earned, and an indemnity payment exceeded total premium
paid on the acreage in the most recent crop year premium was earned. Unfortunately,
this criteria does not account for general weather conditions affecting
all producers in the region or adjacent county experience.
Therefore, the only way to obtain a written agreement is to show that
no loss would have occurred to two succeeding crop years following the unfavorable
experience determination and resubmit to RMA. In the meantime, producers
are encouraged to enroll in the Non-insured Assistance Program to obtain
some level of basic coverage.
Where can I find out more about the Federal
Crop Insurance Program?
Answers to commonly asked questions about the Federal
Crop Insurance Program may be viewed on their Web site.
Where can I find information on the Non-Insured
Assistance Program (NAP)?
The Non-insured Assistance Program provides minimal or catastrophic risk
protection for crops ineligible for the federal crop insurance program.
Losses paid are based on large units (county) when losses exceed 50% of
the expected yield. Like crop insurance, producers may prove their yields
to obtain an Actual Production History for the farm. An administrative fee
of $100 per crop with a maximum of $300 per farm is required to obtain coverage.
Enrollment deadlines generally coincide with crop insurance application
dates.
You may find basic information about the NAP program at your local FSA
office or by reviewing the
fact sheet provided by the agency.
Where can I find copies of Farm Service Agency
(FSA), Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), or Risk Management Agency (RMA)
program notices?
USDA posts notices or temporary directives for these agencies on their
Web site. The Web site allows you to view the most recent notices for
each agency or search notices by subject.
USDA
Homepage
Farm
Service Agency
Farm
Service Agency ND
National
Ag Statistics Service
National
Ag Statistics Service ND
Natural
Resources Conservation Service
USDA
Natural Resources Convservation Service
Risk
Management Agency
Rural
Development
Rural
Development ND
