Fentress, Morgan and Scott County Farm Service Newsletter

Keeping the Agriculture Community Informed

View as a webpage / Share Farm Service Agency  |  Natural Resources Conservation Service  |  Risk Management Agency News from Fentress Morgan Scott County FSA -December 31, 2025 In This Issue: USDA Farm Service Agency Now Accepting Applications for Second Stage of Crop Disaster, Milk Loss and On-Farm Stored Commodity Loss Assistance Efforts for 2025 Conservation Effects Assessment Project Survey of Cultivated Cropland Operations Now Underway USDA Enhances Crop Insurance Benefits USDA Microloans Help Farmers Purchase Farmland and Improve Property ________________________________________ USDA Farm Service Agency Now Accepting Applications for Second Stage of Crop Disaster, Milk Loss and On-Farm Stored Commodity Loss Assistance 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)            o Insured losses through federal crop insurance that did not trigger a crop       insurance indemnity.            o Losses with NAP coverage that did not trigger a NAP payment.    • Uncovered Losses (Uninsured Losses)            o Includes losses that were not insured through federal crop insurance or NAP. • Quality Losses       o 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.         o 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 Fentress/Morgan/Scott County FSA Office at (931) 879-7917 ext. 2. or email: angela.young@usda.gov or tina.davidson@usda.gov Top of page Efforts for 2025 Conservation Effects Assessment Project Survey of Cultivated Cropland Operations Now Underway 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. Learn more about the survey at: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/ceap/croplands USDA Enhances Crop Insurance Benefits The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Risk Management Agency (RMA) made significant enhancements to federal crop insurance programs by expanding benefits for beginning farmers and ranchers, increasing coverage options, and making crop insurance more affordable and accessible across multiple insurance programs. Putting American Farmers First with Enhanced Support for Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Beginning farmers and ranchers will receive substantially increased premium support during their first decade of farming operations, making crop insurance more affordable for the next generation of American agricultural producers. The enhanced benefits mean beginning farmers and ranchers will now receive: 15 percentage points additional subsidy for the first two crop years • 13 percentage points for the third crop year • 11 percentage points for the fourth crop year • 10 percentage points for years five through ten These benefits build upon existing support that waives administrative fees and provides base premium subsidies. A beginning farmer or rancher is now defined as an individual who has not actively operated and managed a farm or ranch for more than 10 crop years. Making Crop Insurance More Accessible with Expanded Coverage Options Improvements to area-based crop insurance programs include: • Whole Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP) maximum coverage level increase from 85% to 90%, providing producers with enhanced protection for diversified operations. Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO) premium support increase from 65% to 80%, making this valuable gap coverage more affordable. Additionally, producers can now purchase SCO regardless of their Area Risk Coverage (ARC) elections with the Farm Service Agency, dramatically increasing accessibility. • Enhanced Coverage Option (ECO) and similar programs including Margin Coverage Option (MCO), Hurricane Insurance Protection Wind Index (HIP-WI), and Fire Insurance Protection Smoke Index (FIP-SI) will also receive the increased 80% in premium support, making comprehensive coverage more affordable than ever. • SCO coverage will also expand to a coverage level of 90% (from 86%). Producers will have access to this option in 2026 via the ECO product, which has identical coverage at the same cost and premium support levels. USDA will then change the SCO policy for the 2027 crop year. These changes will be effective for all crops with sales closing dates on or after July 1, 2025. RMA will provide additional guidance on other provisions within the One Big Beautiful Bill Act as implementation details are finalized. Producers should contact their local crop insurance agent or visit the RMA website for more information about how these changes may affect their coverage options. USDA Microloans Help Farmers Purchase Farmland and Improve Property ________________________________________ Farmers can use USDA farm ownership microloans to buy and improve property. These microloans are especially helpful to beginning or underserved farmers, U.S. veterans looking for a career in farming, and those who have small and mid-sized farming operations. Microloans have helped farmers and ranchers with operating costs, such as feed, fertilizer, tools, fencing, equipment, and living expenses since 2013. Microloans can also help with farmland and building purchases and soil and water conservation improvements. FSA designed the expanded program to simplify the application process, expand eligibility requirements and expedite smaller real estate loans to help farmers strengthen their operations. Microloans provide up to $50,000 to qualified producers and can be issued to the applicant directly from the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA). To learn more about the FSA microloan program, contact your Farm Loan Officer for Cumberland/Bledsoe County USDA Service Center Sean Will, at (931)-484-6520 ext. 105, or visit fsa.usda.gov/microloans. Top of page Top of page Fentress/Morgan/Scott USDA Service Center 452 E Mark Twain Ave. Ste A Jamestown, TN 38556 Phone:931-879-7917  Fax: 855-494-6725   Fentress/Scott District Conservation Jesse Tussing 931-879-8212              jesse.a.tussing@usda.gov   Farm Service Agency Loan Officer Sean Will 931-484-6520 Ex 105 sean.will@usda.gov Morgan District Conservationist Cody Franklin 931-484-5442 Ex 3 cody.franklin@usda.gov   FSA Program Analyst  Angela Young 931-879-7917 Ex 2 angela.young@usda.gov     Next scheduled County Committee Meeting February 2026 @ 8:30 a.m. CST at the Fentress County Service Center. If you would need to request an accommodation, please contact Angie Young at 931-879-7917 x 2 or angela.young@usda.gov no later than 3 business days prior to the scheduled meeting to request accommodations (e.g., an interpreter, translator, seating arrangements, etc.) or materials in an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape – captioning, etc.).

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