Today the USDA Ag Marketing Service and the Farm Service Agency hosted a webinar at noon Central time. The webinar was an opportunity for producers to learn about the general application process prior to the official signup period.
There was very little new information in the webinar and content was very general. They encouraged producers who have not dealt with FSA in some time to call their local FSA office to determine if records were up to date. Generally, FSA offices will need your correct mailing address, contact information, and property information. During the webinar, producers were encouraged to make certain that FSA offices have at least this minimum information in their files.
Also, the webinar offered a list of forms that will be needed for signup. Forms can be found at www.farmers.gov/CFAP . Initially, we believed there would be a maximum payment of $125,000 per individual/entity and $250,000 per commodity. There has been discussion that those maximum caps are being raised. However, today there was no discussion about maximum amounts for payments to individuals or entities. There was no discussion about any amounts one could anticipate on a direct payment. There was no guidance given in terms of signup dates.
We could type out all of the information available for now, but we encourage you to visit the website for the most concise reading of the information. If you contact your local USDA service center and update your contact information, they will add you to a text and email list so you can receive updates directly from USDA as they are available.