York County USDA Farm Service Agency Executive Director Leann Nelson reminds producers that they have until Nov. 16, 2015, to report fall seeded crops such as wheat and perennial forage crops such as grass to their local FSA office for the 2016 crop year. Perennial forage includes alfalfa, clover and mixed-forage intended for hay or grazing as well as acreage insured through the Risk Management Agency’s Pasture, Rangeland, Forage insurance. “The 2014 Farm Bill requires acreage reporting for several programs that are available to farmers and ranchers,” said Nelson. “Failure to report all cropland acreage by the deadline can result in a loss of program benefits.” To comply with program provisions, acreage reports must be filed to maintain eligibility for the following programs: Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage. Conservation Reserve Program, Non-Insured Crop Disaster Assistance Program and the Livestock Forage Program. This includes crops on non-cropland such as hayed or grazed grasslands and land that will be fallow for the year. “It is extremely important to provide accurate acreage reports including who has an interest in the acreage, the intended use of the crop as well as irrigated and non-irrigated practices,” said CED Nelson. “Once the intended use is reported, it cannot be revised. Information should be consistent between FSA and your crop insurance provider. While subsequent crops are required to be reported, cover crops should also be reported.” If a crop was not planted by the applicable reporting date, the acreage must be reported within 15 calendar days after planting is complete. NAP policy holders must report covered crops by the earlier of November 16, 2015, or 15 days before grazing or harvesting the crop. Farmers who have not certified their fall seeded crops or perennial forage crops should contact the county office immediately to make an appointment prior to the deadline. To report acres, producers must provide crop boundaries, shares and planting dates for each field. Source - http://www.yorknewstimes.com/