Coronavirus Food Assistance Program

Are you a farmer or rancher whose operation has been directly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic? The Coronavirus Food Assistance Program will provide direct relief to producers who faced price declines and additional marketing costs due to COVID-19.

Beginning May 26, FSA will begin accepting applications for CFAP. To find the latest information on CFAP, including forms and the contact information for your local Service Center, visit farmers.gov/CFAP.

Coronavirus and USDA Service Centers

 USDA Service Centers in Delaware will continue to be open for business by phone appointment only and field work will continue with appropriate social distancing. While our program delivery staff will continue to come into the office, they will be working with our producers by phone, and using online tools whenever possible. All Service Center visitors wishing to conduct business with FSA are required to call their Service Center to schedule a phone appointment. In the event a Service Center is not currently available to serve customers on location, producers can receive assistance from the closest alternate Service Center by phone. Learn more at farmers.gov/coronavirus.

STATUS OF KENT COUNTY SERVICE CENTER MOVE:

The Kent County USDA office of Farm Service Agency (FSA) and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) have moved to the following location:

The Centre at Longacre

519 S. Red Haven Lane

Suite 200

Dover DE 19901

Phone:  (302)-741-2600

To locate your local FSA office, visit https://offices.sc.egov.usda.gov/locator

Policy Updates for Acreage Reporting

The USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) recently made several policy updates for acreage reporting for cover crops, revising intended use, late-filed provisions, grazing allotments as well as updated the definitions of “idle” and “fallow.” 

Reporting Cover Crops:

FSA made changes to the types of cover crops. Cover crop types can be chosen from the following four categories:

• Cereals and other grasses - Any cover crop that is classified as a grass plant or cereal grain, and would include, but not be limited to, the following cover crops: cereal rye, wheat, barley, oats, black oats, triticale, annual ryegrass, pearl millet, foxtail millet (also called German, Italian or Hungarian millet), sorghum sudan grass, sorghum and other millets and grasses.
• Legumes - Any cover crop that is classified as a legume, including, but not limited to, clovers, vetches, peas, sun hemp, cowpeas, lentils and other legumes.
• Brassicas and other broadleaves - Any cover crop that is classified as a non-legume broadleaf, including, but not limited to, Brassicas such as radishes, turnips, canola, rapeseed, oilseed rape, and mustards, as well as other broadleaf plants such as phacelia, flax, sunflower, buckwheat, and safflower.
• Mixtures - Mixes of two or more cover crop species planted at the same time, for example, oats and radishes.
• If the cover crop is harvested for any use other than forage or grazing and is not terminated according to policy guidelines, then that crop will no longer be considered a cover crop and the acreage report must be revised to reflect the actual crop.

Permitted Revision of Intended use After Acreage Reporting Date:

New operators or owners who pick up a farm after the acreage reporting deadline has passed and the crop has already been reported on the farm, have 30 days to change the intended use. Producer share interest changes alone will not allow for revisions to intended use after the acreage reporting date. The revision must be performed by either the acreage reporting date or within 30 calendar days from the date when the new operator or owner acquired the lease on land, control of the land or ownership and new producer crop share interest in the previously reported crop acreage. Under this policy, appropriate documentation must be provided to the County Committee’s satisfaction to determine that a legitimate operator or ownership and producer crop share interest change occurred to permit the revision. 

Acreage Reports:

In order to maintain program eligibility and benefits, producers must timely file acreage reports. Failure to file an acreage report by the crop acreage reporting deadline may result in ineligibility for future program benefits. FSA will not accept acreage reports provided more than a year after the acreage reporting deadline.  

Reporting Grazing Allotments:

FSA offices can now accept acreage reports for grazing allotments. Producers will use form “FSA-578” to report grazing allotments as animal unit months (AUMs) using the “Reporting Unit” field. The local FSA office will need the grazing period start and end date and the percent of public land. 

Definitions of Terms

FSA defines “idle” as cropland or a balance of cropland within a Common Land Unit (CLU) (field/subfield) which is not planted or considered not planted and does not meet the definition of fallow or skip row. For example, the balance of a field that could not be planted due to moisture or a turn area that is not planted would be reported as idle.   

Fallow is considered unplanted cropland acres which are part of a crop/fallow rotation where cultivated land that is normally planted is purposely kept out of production during a regular growing season. Resting the ground in this manner allows it to recover its fertility and conserve moisture for crop production in the next growing season.

Did You Know:

Payments to Deceased Producers

In order to claim a Farm Service Agency (FSA) payment on behalf of a deceased producer, all program conditions for the payment must have been met before the applicable producer’s date of death. 

If a producer earned a FSA payment prior to becoming deceased, the following is the order of precedence of the representatives of the producer: 

• administrator or executor of the estate
• the surviving spouse
• surviving sons and daughters, including adopted children
• surviving father and mother
• surviving brothers and sisters
• heirs of the deceased person who would be entitled to payment according to the State law

In order for FSA to release the payment, the legal representative of the deceased producer must file a form FSA-325, to claim the payment for themselves or an estate. The county office will verify and determine that the application, contract, loan agreement, or other similar form requesting payment issuance, was signed by the applicable deadline for such form, by the deceased or a person legally authorized to act on their behalf at that time of application. 

If the application, contract or loan agreement form was signed by someone other than the participant who is deceased, FSA will determine whether the person submitting the form has the legal authority to submit the form to compel FSA to pay the deceased participant. 

Payments will be issued to the respective representative’s name using the deceased program participant’s tax identification number. Payments made to representatives are subject to offset regulations for debts owed by the deceased. 

FSA is not responsible for advising persons in obtaining legal advice on how to obtain program benefits that may be due to a participant who has died, disappeared or who has been declared incompetent.

ASKFSA

Are you looking for answers to your FSA questions?  Then ASK FSA at askfsa.custhelp.com. 

AskFSA is an online resource that helps you easily find information and answers to your FSA questions no matter where you are or what device you use.  It is for ALL customers, including underserved farmers and ranchers who wish to be enrolled in FSA loans, farm, and conservation programs. 

Through AskFSA you can:  

• Access our knowledge base 24/7
• Receive answers to your questions faster
• Submit a question and receive a timely response from an FSA expert
• Get notifications when answers important to you and your farming operation are updated

Customize your account settings and view responses at any time

Environmental Review Required Before Project Implementation

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires Federal agencies to consider all potential environmental impacts for federally-funded projects before the project is approved. 

For all Farm Service Agency (FSA) programs, an environmental review must be completed before actions are approved, such as site preparation or ground disturbance. These programs include, but are not limited to, the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP), Farm Storage Facility Loan (FSFL) program and farm loans. If project implementation begins before FSA has completed an environmental review, this will result in a denial of the request. There are exceptions regarding the Stafford Act and emergencies. It is important to wait until you receive written approval of your project proposal before starting any actions, including, but not limited to, vegetation clearing, site preparation or ground disturbance. 

Remember to contact your local FSA office early in your planning process to determine what level of environmental review is required for your program application so that it can be completed timely. 

Applications cannot be approved contingent upon the completion of an environmental review. FSA must have copies of all permits and plans before an application can be approved.

Financial Decision Confusion, Let FSA Help?

FSA farm loan programs are a valuable resource to establish, improve, expand, transition, and strengthen your farm or ranch. For more information on Farm Loans programs contact your local FSA Office.

State Executive Director

Sean McKeon

State Committee Members

• Richard L. Bergold, Chairperson
• James H. Baxter IV
• Donald V. Collins Jr.
• Lori J. Ockels
• Neal Dukes

State Office Information

Delaware State Farm Service Agency Office
1221 College Park Drive, Suite 201
Dover, DE 19904
Phone: 302-678-4250
Fax: (855)-389-2246