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Farm program sign-up lags as deadline looms

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A Farm Service Agency director in Minnesota says there are still many farmers that need to sign up for the new farm programs before the September 30th deadline.

James Kruize of Clay County FSA tells Brownfield nationwide enrollment is around 50 to 60 percent as of Wednesday.

“In Minnesota the state average was about 70 percent, so there’s still a lot of farmers that need to come in and sign that contract.  There are a lot of them who feel that already signed that contract when they came in this spring.”

He says there was a lot of confusion during the initial roll-out of the new programs.

“It was a three-phase program, and they (farmers) thought as they were electing which program they wanted to go into, they were also signing the contract.  But that third phase really only started this summer, so if a producer hasn’t been in the office within the last six weeks, they probably should check with their county office.”

Kruize says he thinks there is still a lot of educating that needs to be done.

“I think there’s still a lot of learning to do figuring out how the programs work and seeing how we get through the first year; seeing how the payment cycle works.  I think there will be a lot of continual education going forward as producers learn about these programs, realizing there are no longer direct payments.”

He encourages producers to check with their local FSA office to make sure they are signed up before the September 30th deadline.

 

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