 Perkins County USDA Newsletter - September 30, 2025 In This Issue: September 30, 2025 - Final date to purchase NAP coverage on Winter Rye. October 3, 2025 - Batching date deadline for Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) applications. October 13, 2025 - Federal Holiday - USDA Service Centers Closed October 31, 2025 - Deadline to apply for Emergency Livestock Relief Program for 2023 and 2024 Flood and Wildfire (ELRP 2023 and 2024 FW). November 17, 2025 - Acreage Reporting Deadline for 2026 Crop Year Fall-Seeded Small Grains September Interest Rates:
Commodity (Grain) Loans - 5.00%
Direct Operating Loans - 4.875%
Direct Farm Ownership Loans – 5.875%
Joint Financing Farm Ownership Loans – 3.875%
FSFL (Grain Bin & other Grain Handling Equipment), 3-Year - 3.750%
FSFL (Grain Bin & other Grain Handling Equipment), 5-Year - 3.875%
FSFL (Grain Bin & other Grain Handling Equipment), 7-Year - 4.000%
FSFL (Grain Bin & other Grain Handling Equipment), 10-Year - 4.375%
FSFL (Grain Bin & other Grain Handling Equipment), 12-Year - 4.500% For more program information, visit www.farmers.gov. Maps are now available at the Perkins County FSA Office for acreage reporting purposes. If you wish to receive your maps by e-mail, please call our office or email sdbison-fsa@usda.gov . Please see the following acreage reporting deadlines for Perkins County: - November 15, 2025: Fall Seeded Crops (Winter Wheat, Rye Triticale, etc.)
- July 15, 2026: Perennial Grasses, Spring Seeded Crops
In order to maintain program eligibility and benefits, you must file timely acreage reports. Failure to file an acreage report by the crop acreage reporting deadline may cause ineligibility for future program benefits. FSA will not accept acreage reports provided more than a year after the acreage reporting deadline. Producers are encouraged to file their acreage reports as soon as planting is completed. Top of page The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reminds agricultural producers that the final date to apply for or make changes to their existing crop insurance coverage is quickly approaching for fall planted crops. Sales closing dates vary by crop and location, but the next major sales closing date is Sept. 30. Producers are encouraged to visit their crop insurance agent soon to learn specific details for the 2026 crop year. Crop insurance coverage decisions must be made on or before the applicable sales closing date. The USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) lists sales closing dates in the Actuarial Information Browser, under the "Dates" tab. Producers can also access the RMA Map Viewer tool to visualize the insurance program date choices for acreage reporting, cancellation, contract change, earliest planting, end of insurance, end of late planting period, final planting, premium billing, production reporting, sales closing, and termination dates, when applicable, per commodity, insurance plan, type, and practice. Additionally, producers can access the RMA Information Reporting System tool to specifically identify applicable dates for their operation, using the "Insurance Offer Reports" application. Federal crop insurance is critical to the farm safety net. It helps producers and owners manage revenue risks and strengthens the rural economy. Producers may select from several coverage options, including yield coverage, revenue protection, and area risk plans of insurance. Crop insurance options include Whole-Farm Revenue Protection and Micro Farm. Whole-Farm Revenue Protection provides a risk management safety net for all commodities on the farm under one insurance policy and is available in all counties nationwide. Micro Farm aims to help direct market and small-scale producers that may sell locally, and this policy simplifies record keeping and covers post-production costs such as washing and value-added products. Crop insurance is sold and delivered solely through private crop insurance agents. A list of crop insurance agents is available online at the RMA Agent Locator. Producers can learn more about crop insurance and the modern farm safety net at rma.usda.gov or by contacting their RMA Regional Office. RMA's Basics for Beginners provides information for those new to crop insurance. Top of page A key part of NRCS's 90-year history was the establishment of the conservation planning process by Hugh Hammond Bennett. Bennett was the agency's first chief and is considered the "father of soil conservation." He believed in considering each farm's unique conditions when developing a conservation plan. A conservation plan is a document outlining the strategies and actions that should be taken to protect and manage natural resources on a specific area of land. It serves as a blueprint for achieving conservation goals. To develop a conservation plan, a conservation planner and the customer (farmer, rancher or landowner) collaborate during the conservation planning process. Bennett believed that agency employees must walk the land with the customer and see their natural resource challenges and opportunities firsthand. Bennett also understood that natural resource concerns could not be treated in isolation; soil, water, air, plants, animals, and humans are all part of an integrated system that is inter-dependent. Learn more about how conservation planning has evolved over the years. Top of page  The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) reminds foreign investors with an interest in agricultural land in the United States that they are required to report their land holdings and transactions to USDA. The Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA) requires foreign investors who buy, sell or hold an interest in U.S. agricultural land to report their holdings and transactions to the USDA. Foreign investors must file AFIDA Report Form FSA-153 with the FSA county office in the county where the land is located. Large or complex filings may be handled by AFIDA headquarters staff in Washington, D.C. According to CFR Title 7 Part 781, any foreign person who holds an interest in U.S. agricultural land is required to report their holdings no later than 90 days after the date of the transaction. Foreign investors should report holdings of agricultural land totaling 10 acres or more used for farming, ranching or timber production, and leaseholds on agricultural land of 10 or more years. Tracts totaling 10 acres or less in the aggregate, and which produce annual gross receipts in excess of $1,000 from the sale of farm, ranch, forestry or timber products, must also be reported. AFIDA reports are also required when there are changes in land use, such as from agricultural to nonagricultural use. Foreign investors must also file a report when there is a change in the status of ownership. The information from AFIDA reports is used to prepare an annual report to Congress. These annual reports to Congress, as well as more information, are available on the FSA AFIDA webpage. Assistance in completing the FSA-153 report may be obtained from the local FSA office. For more information regarding AFIDA or FSA programs, contact the Name County FSA office at phone or visit farmers.gov. | Top of page  FSA and NRCS program applicants for benefits are required to submit a completed CCC-902 Farming Operation Plan and CCC-941 Average Gross Income (AGI) Certification and Consent to Disclosure of Tax Information for FSA to determine the applicant's payment eligibility and establish the maximum payment limitation applicable to the program applicant. Participants are not required to annually submit new CCC-902s for payment eligibility and payment limitation purposes unless a change in the farming operation occurs that may affect the previous determination of record. A valid CCC-902 filed by the participant is considered to be a continuous certification used for all payment eligibility and payment limitation determinations applicable for the program benefits requested. Participants are responsible for ensuring that all CCC-902 and CCC-941 and related forms on file in the county office are updated, current, and correct. Participants are required to timely notify the county office of any changes in the farming operation that may affect the previous determination of record by filing a new or updated CCC-902 as applicable. Changes that may require a new determination include, but are not limited to, a change of: - Shares of a contract, which may reflect:
- A land lease from cash rent to share rent
- A land lease from share rent to cash rent (subject to the cash rent tenant rule
- A modification of a variable/fixed bushel-rent arrangement
- The size of the producer's farming operation by the addition or reduction of cropland that may affect the application of a cropland factor
- The structure of the farming operation, including any change to a member's share
- The contribution of farm inputs of capital, land, equipment, active personal labor, and/or active personal management
- Farming interests not previously disclosed on CCC-902 including the farming interests of a spouse or minor child
- Certifications of average AGI are required to be filed annually for participation in an annual USDA program. For multi-year conservation contracts and NRCS easements, a certification of AGI must be filed prior to approval of the contract or easement and is applicable for the duration of the contract period.
Participants are encouraged to file or review these forms within the deadlines established for each applicable program for which program benefits are being requested. | Top of page Bison USDA Service Center 604 Coleman Avenue
PO Box 98
Bison, SD 57620 Phone: 605-244-5222
Fax: 855-262-0860 | | sdbison-fsa@usda.gov
sdbison-nrcs@usda.gov | | FSA County Executive Director
Kristen Miles
kristen.miles@usda.gov Program Analysts
Kelsie Kronberg
Allison Kronberg
Allison Grygiel
McKenna Ahrenholz | FSA County Committee LAA 1: Brett Bieber
LAA 2: Brad Schecher
LAA 3: Tracy Collins
Minority Advisor: Veronica Kari Next COC Meeting:
October 29, 2025 @ 1 PM | | NRCS District Conservation
Sarah Eggebo
sarah.eggebo@usda.gov
Cindy Hulm - Program Assistant
Ryan Beer - Rangeland Management Specialist
Reese Jensen - Soil Conservationist
Kirsten Linnemeier - American Bird Conservancy Wildlife Biologist
| Perkins County Conservation District Elyssa Barkman, District Manager
elyssa.Barkman@sd.nacdnet.net Lyndel Johnson - Chairman
Drew Anderson - Vice Chairman
Veronica Kari - Secretary/Treasurer
Chuck Anderson - Supervisor
Peggy Veal - Supervisor Next PCCD Meeting:
TBA | |
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