 Brule/Buffalo USDA Service Center Updates - December 30, 2025 In This Issue:  Our office has been busy with program implementation and working with customers to address their end-of-year needs. Here are a few things that are important for you to know as we wind down 2025 and prepare for 2026. SUPPLEMENTAL DISASTER RELIEF PROGRAM (SDRP) STAGE 2: This program was announced on Nov. 24. It is designed to provide financial relief to producers with losses incurred due to certain weather-related events in 2023 and/or 2024. SDRP Stage 1, which launched earlier this year, is geared toward producers with indemnified losses. Most of you already have worked with us on Stage 1 applications. Stage 2 addresses unindemnified, uncovered, and quality losses for eligible crops, trees and vines. Applications are being accepted through April 30, 2026, but now is a good time to contact our office to learn more and apply. FARMER BRIDGE ASSISTANCE (FBA): FSA recently announted the new FBA program that provides a one-time bridge payment to American farmers in response to temporary trade market disruptions and increased production costs. This program is based on FSA reported planted acres. Commodity-specific payment rates will be released soon and pre-filled applications will go out to eligible producers during the week of Feb. 23, 2026. We understand you have questions. Producers, including specialty crop producers and stakeholder groups, can submit questions to farmerbridge@usda.gov. FALL ACREAGE REPORTING: We were out of the office during the normal deadline for fall acreage reporting. If you seeded any crops in the fall (such as wheat, rye, triticale), and have not yet reported those acres to us, please contact us as soon as possible to complete your certification. Remember - acreage reporting is your responsibility. Doing it right will save you money. Always get a copy of your report immediately after signing and filing it with your agent and keep it with your records. Don't depend on your agent to do this important job for you. Your signature on the bottom of the acreage reporting form makes it, legally, your responsibility. Double-check it for yourself. UPDATE YOUR RECORDS: FSA is cleaning up our producer record database and needs your help. Please report any changes of address, zip code, phone number, email address or an incorrect name or business name on file to our office. You should also report changes in your farm operation, like the addition of a farm by lease or purchase. You should also report any changes to your operation in which you reorganize to form a Trust, LLC or other legal entity. FSA and NRCS program participants are required to promptly report changes in their farming operation to the County Committee in writing and to update their Farm Operating Plan on form CCC-902. SAVE TIME-MAKE AN APPOINTMENT: Producers are encouraged to call their local FSA & NRCS office to schedule an appointment to ensure maximum use of their time and to make sure staff is available to tend to their important business needs. Please call your local office ahead to set an appointment and to discuss any records or documentation that might be needed during your appointment. That's all for this month. Happy Holidays from all of us at the Brule/Buffalo County FSA. Talk to you in the new year. | Top of page  USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) is delivering more than $16 billion in total Congressionally approved disaster relief. FSA is now accepting applications for assistance through the second stage of the Supplemental Disaster Relief Program (SDRP) from agricultural producers who suffered eligible non-indemnified, uncovered or quality crop losses due to qualifying natural disasters in 2023 and 2024. Stage Two covers eligible crop, tree, bush and vine losses that were not covered under Stage One program provisions, including non-indemnified (shallow loss), uncovered and quality losses. Although the majority of payments from the first stage are already in the hands of producers helping them prepare for and invest in the next crop year, Stage One assistance, announced in July, remains available to producers who received an indemnity under crop insurance or the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) for eligible crop losses due to qualifying 2023 and 2024natural disaster events. The deadline to apply for both Stage One and Stage Two assistance is April 30, 2026. Additionally, FSA is taking applications for assistance from producers who had to dump or remove milk from the commercial market and who incurred losses of eligible farm stored commodities due to qualifying disaster events in 2023 and 2024. SDRP Stage Two Program Details SDRP Stage Two provides assistance for eligible crop, tree, bush and vine losses not covered under Stage One, including: - Non-Indemnified Losses (Including Shallow Losses)
- Insured losses through federal crop insurance that did not trigger a crop insurance indemnity.
- Losses with NAP coverage that did not trigger a NAP payment.
- Uncovered Losses (Uninsured Losses)
- Includes losses that were not insured through federal crop insurance or NAP.
- Quality Losses
- Includes quality losses to commodities indicated by:
- A decrease in value based on discounts due to the physical condition of the crop supported by applicable grading factors
- A decline in the nutritional value of forage crops supported by documented forage tests.
- Producers will certify to an SDRP quality loss percentage.
FSA is establishing block grants with Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, and Massachusetts that cover crop losses; therefore, producers with losses on land physically located in these states are not eligible for SDRP program payments. For information on program eligibility and to download an application checklist, visit fsa.usda.gov/sdrp. More information will be provided in early 2026 regarding a separate enrollment period for quality losses covered by SDRP Stage One as well as for insured producers in Puerto Rico who were not included in Stage One because data was not available when pre-filled applications were mailed. Milk and On-Farm Stored Crop Loss Assistance The Milk Loss Program provides up to $1.65 million in payments to eligible dairy operations for milk that was dumped or removed without compensation from the commercial milk market because of a qualifying natural disaster event in 2023 and/or 2024. Producers who suffered losses of eligible harvested commodities while stored in on-farm structures in 2023 and/or 2024 due to a qualifying natural disaster event may be eligible for assistance through the On-Farm Stored Commodity Loss Program, which provides for up to $5 million to impacted producers. The deadline to apply for milk and on-farm stored commodity losses is Jan. 23, 2026. Information and reference resources for both programs are available online at Information and fact sheets for both programs are available online at fsa.usda.gov/mlp for milk loss and fsa.usda.gov/ofsclp for on-farm stored commodity losses. To make an appointment to apply, call the Brule/Buffalo County FSA Office at 605-734-5413. | A farmers.gov account provides self-service opportunities to Farm Service Agency (FSA) and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) customers through a secure, authenticated access process. A new feature now provides access to your current or prior year FSA-578, Report of Commodities (Nationwide Producer Print). Your FSA-578 contains annual crop acreage reporting information submitted to USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA). If you are a shareholder (operator, owner or other producer) for a crop on the acreage report, you will be able to view, save and/or print your selected annual FSA-578. How to Access Your FSA-578's
From the Land tab in your farmers.gov account, click Land Overview on the navigation drop-down. On the Land Overview page, you will see an information block that states "View and Print Your Acreage Reports" containing a View Your FSA-578 button. Clicking the button will open a popup modal with a drop-down menu to select the acreage report year. Once you have selected a year, the View FSA-578 button becomes active. Clicking the button will open a new tab with a message indicating the PDF file is being loaded. Once the load is complete, the FSA-578, Report of Commodities (Nationwide Producer Print) PDF document is displayed. You can view, save and/or print the FSA-578 as needed. If there is no acreage report information on file for the selected acreage report year, the PDF will display the message, "This producer does not have a producer print currently available." How to Access FSA-578s Using Your Representative Authority to Act on Behalf of Another Customer
Additionally, if you have been granted the authority to act on behalf of another individual or entity, you can use the yellow banner to "Switch Profile" and view the current or prior year FSA-578, Report of Commodities (Nationwide Producer Print) for the customer you on whose behalf you have been elected to act. Contact your local FSA office for more information or questions regarding your FSA-578, Report of Commodities (Nationwide Producer Print) or if you have questions regarding establishing representative authority or do not see the expected representative authority options when you log in.  If you're a farmer or other operator, you may be asked to participate in a survey to gather in-depth information about the use of conservation practices on cultivated cropland. The 2025 Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) Survey is a joint effort between USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). NASS will visit approximately 23,000 operators across the contiguous U.S. in August and September 2025 to determine survey eligibility. A more in-depth follow-up survey will be conducted starting in November 2025. This is the second of three years of surveys conducted by NASS. Once surveying is complete, NRCS will combine the data with information from the National Resources Inventory, NRCS field staff, and multiple data sources to estimate environmental and management outcomes of conservation on cultivated cropland across U.S. farms. NRCS will publish the findings as a CEAP Cropland Assessment report. CEAP Cropland Assessments quantify the effects of voluntary conservation efforts across the nation's cropland at both regional and national scales. | The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is announcing the launch of the Debt Consolidation Tool, an innovative online tool available through farmers.gov that allows agricultural producers to enter their farm operating debt and evaluate the potential savings that might be provided by obtaining a debt consolidation loan with USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) or a local lender. A debt consolidation loan is a new loan used to pay off other existing operating loans or lines of credit that might have unreasonable rates and terms. By combining multiple eligible debts into a single, larger loan, borrowers may obtain more favorable payment terms such as a lower interest rate or lower payments. Consolidating debt may also provide farmers and ranchers additional cash flow flexibilities. The Debt Consolidation Tool is a significant addition to FSA's suite of improvements designed to modernize its Farm Loan Programs. The tool enhances customer service and increases opportunities for farmers and ranchers to achieve financial viability by helping them identify potential savings that could be reinvested in their farming and ranching operation, retirement accounts, or college savings accounts. Producers can access the Debt Consolidation Tool by visiting farmers.gov/debt-consolidation-tool. The tool is built to run on modern browsers including Chrome, Edge, Firefox, or the Safari browser. Producers do not need to create a farmers.gov account or access the authenticated customer portal to use the tool. USDA encourages producers to reach out to their local FSA farm loan staff to ensure they fully understand the wide range of loan and servicing options available to assist with starting, expanding, or maintaining their agricultural operation. To conduct business with FSA, please contact your local USDA Service Center. DECEMBER FSA Interest Rates OPERATING/OWNERSHIP
Farm Operating: 4.625%
Farm Ownership: 5.75%
Farm Ownership - Joint Financing: 3.75%
Farm Ownership - Down Payment: 1.75%
Emergency - Actual Loss: 3.75% FARM STORAGE FACILITY LOAN
3-year term: 3.50%
5-year term: 3.675%
7-year term: 3.875%
10-year term: 4.125%
12-year term: 4.25% MARKETING ASSISTANCE
Commodity Loan: 4.625% Top of page January 1, 2026 – USDA Service Centers closed for Federal Holiday
January 15, 2026 – Deadline to apply for NRCS Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) and Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP)
January 19, 2026 – USDA Service Centers closed for Federal Holiday
January 23, 2026 - Deadline to apply for On-Farm Stored Commodity Loss Program
January 23, 2026 - Deadline to apply for the Milk Loss Program
January 23, 2026 - Deadline to apply for NRCS Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP)
January 31, 2026 – Deadline to apply for 2025 Wool, Mohair & Pelts LDP
March 1, 2026 – Deadline to apply for 2025 LIP/ELAP Application for payment
April 30, 2026 – Deadline to apply for 2023 & 2024 SDRP (State 1 & 2) ***Please note any above NAP calendar reference may not be inclusive for all NAP-covered crops; NAP participants should contact their County FSA Office to confirm important program deadlines. Get the latest FSA news by signing up for text alerts -Text SDBRULE OR SDBUFFALO to FSANOW (372669) to subscribe for text message alerts from Brule and Buffalo counties. Top of page Brule/Buffalo USDA Service Center Chamberlain Service Center
200 S. Paul Gust Rd, Suite 110
Chamberlain, SD 57325 Phone: 605-734-5413
Fax: 855-262-1937 Service Center Locator | | Email: sdchamberl-fsa@usda.gov OR sdchamberl-nrcs@usda.gov | | FSA County Executive Director
Megan Hickey
megan.hickey@usda.gov FSA Farm Loan Manager
Jenna Adamson
jenna.adamson@usda.gov FSA Farm Loan Officer
Rachel Blasher FSA Farm Loan Analyst
Alicia Shonrock FSA Program Analysts
Siara Aesoph
Holly Reis
Sophia Urban | NRCS Resource Unit Conservationist
Shane Reis
shane.reis@usda.gov NRCS District Conservationist
Trent Walrod - Acting DC PF SD Prescribed Fire Coordinator
Cody Grewing
cody.grewing@usda.gov NRCS Office Staff
Lindsey Buntrock - Soil Conservationist
Jennifer Boeding - Program Support Ast
Kendall Hettick - PF Prescribed Fire Spc
Jayd Chmela - Pheasants Forever Biol
Stacy Turgeon - Area Agronomist
| | County Committee Members:
Matt Sinkie (LAA #5) - Chairman
Barry Knippling (LAA #4) - Vice-Chairman
Blain Bairey (LAA #3)
Teresa Olson (LAA #2)
Ryan Randall (LAA #1)
Upcoming Meetings:
FSA County Committee Meeting: TBD, Chamberlain Service Center
Brule-Buffalo Conservation District Meeting: January 21st, 7pm, Charly's Restaurant
Persons with disabilities who require accomodations to attend or participate in the FSA meeting should contact Megan Hickey at 605-734-5413 extension 2, for the NRD meetings, please contact Lindsey Buntrock at 605-734-5413 extension 3, or Federal Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339 for either meeting. Enroll in texting service: Text SDBrule or SDBuffalo to 372669 | |
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