TEXAS HIGH PLAINS ACREAGE ESTIMATES LOWER ON DRYLAND FAILURES
By Mary Jane Buerkle
Mother Nature has not been kind to many Texas High Plains growers this
year, particularly in the northern and western parts of the PCG service
area, causing the loss of dryland acreage that either never came up,
failed to establish a viable stand, or was damaged or destroyed by wind
and storms. Irrigated acreage in some areas is suffering as well.
While it still is too early to quantify how much dryland acreage is
affected, it likely is safe to say that the number is above 30 percent
across the region.
Drs. Calvin Trostle and Murilo Maeda of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension
posted the 18th annual edition of their Hailout/Replant/Late-Plant Guide,
titled “2020 Alternative Crop Options after Failed Cotton and Late-Season
Crop Planting for the Texas South Plains” on the Lubbock Research &
Extension Center website. The document can be found
at https://lubbock.tamu.edu/files/2020/06/
Hailout-Replant-LatePlant-Guide-TX-S-Plains-Trostle-Maeda-2020.pdf and
also is linked on the PCG website at http://plainscotton.org.
The primary objectives of this guide include providing producers with
guidelines for crop replant options after failed crops, especially cotton;
assist with late-season planting decisions where timely planting, duration
to crop maturity, and
fall weather risk may impact successful cropping; and provide contractor
contact information as well as recent approximate pricing, particularly
for crops where price is fixed at contract signing. The information
applies to the Texas High Plains, Rolling Plains, and the Concho Valley
region. The planting dates will change for crop and location.
Dicamba Update
Late last week, the Ninth Circuit denied an emergency motion to halt the
use of dicamba products and hold EPA in contempt, upholding EPA’s decision
to vacate the registrations as ordered by the court on June 3 but allow
growers to use existing stocks of XtendiMax, Engenia, and FeXapan that had
been in their possession as of June 3, 2020, until July 31, 2020, in
accordance with the former federal label.
The court on Thursday also denied a motion by BASF to recall the June 3
order. PCG will continue to monitor proceedings related to the use of
dicamba products.
COTTON INDUSTRY SEEKS VOLUNTEER LEADERS
By Shawn Wade
The success of the High Plains cotton industry, like any group effort, is
directly tied to the willingness of qualified individuals to volunteer to
serve in various leadership positions.
PCG encourages all qualified individuals interested in representing the
High Plains as a representative to the Cotton Board, National Cotton
Council, or Cotton Incorporated to contact PCG CEO Steve Verett at
806-792-4904 for more information.
Each year, a variety of volunteer positions within the NCC and Cotton
Incorporated are filled directly through the industry’s caucus process. In
addition to naming representatives to the NCC and Cotton Incorporated, PCG
and the Texas cotton industry also work together to identify and nominate
qualified individuals to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture for possible
appointment as a Member or Alternate on the Cotton Board, which oversees
the highly successful U.S. Cotton Research & Promotion Program.
IMPORTANT PROGRAM DEADLINES
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE KEY PROGRAMS
ARC-CO and PLC Election and Contract 2020 Crop Year
June 30
Crop Acreage Certification Deadline
July 15
Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) Application
August 28
Yield Update for PLC Program
September 30
Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program+ (WHIP+) Application
December 31
(program funds will remain available until expended or December 31)
SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION KEY PROGRAMS
Paycheck Protection Program
Signup Ends June 30
Economic Injury Disaster Loan
Signup Ends December 31
USDA ADDS DIGITAL OPTIONS FOR FARMERS AND RANCHERS TO APPLY FOR CFAP
USDA’s Farm Service Agency will now accept applications for the
Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) through an online portal,
expanding the options available to producers to apply for this program,
which helps offset price declines and additional marketing costs because
of the coronavirus pandemic. FSA is also leveraging commercial document
storage and e-signature solutions to enable producers to work with local
service center staff to complete their applications from home.
“We are doing everything we can to serve our customers and make sure
agricultural producers impacted by the pandemic can quickly and securely
apply for this relief program,” said FSA Administrator Richard Fordyce.
“In addition to working with FSA staff through the phone, email and
scheduled in-person appointments, we can now also take applications
through the farmers.gov portal, which saves producers and our staff time.”
Through the portal, producers with secure USDA login credentials—known as
eAuthentication—can certify eligible commodities online, digitally sign
applications and submit directly to the local USDA Service Center.
Producers who do not have an eAuthentication account can learn more and
begin the enrollment process at http://farmers.gov/sign-in. Currently, the
digital application is only available to sole proprietors or single-member
business entities.
USDA Service Centers can also work with producers to complete and securely
transmit digitally signed applications through two commercially available
tools: Box and OneSpan. Producers who are interested in digitally signing
their applications should notify their local service centers when calling
to discuss the CFAP application process. You can learn more about these
solutions at http://farmers.gov/mydocs.
USDA has several other options for producers to complete and submit their
CFAP applications. These include:
1. Downloading the AD-3114 application form from http://farmers.gov/cfap
and manually completing the form to submit to the local USDA Service
Center by mail, electronically or by hand delivery to an office drop box.
In some limited cases, the office may be open for in-person business by
appointment. Visit http://farmers.gov/coronavirus/service-center-status to
check the status of your local office.
2. Completing the application form using our CFAP Application Generator
and Payment Calculator found at http://farmers.gov/cfap. This Excel
workbook allows customers to input information specific to their operation
to determine estimated payments and populate the application form, which
can be printed, and then signed and submitted to their local USDA Service
Center.
Getting Help from FSA
New customers seeking one-on-one support with the CFAP application process
can call 877-508-8364 to speak directly with a USDA employee ready to offer
general assistance. This is a recommended first step before a producer
engages the team at the FSA county office at their local USDA Service
Center.
All other eligibility forms, such as those related to adjusted gross
income and payment information, can be downloaded from
http://farmers.gov/cfap. For existing FSA customers, these documents are
likely already on file.
Producers self-certify their records when applying for CFAP, and that
documentation is not submitted with the application. However, producers
may be asked for their documentation to support the certification of
eligible commodities, so they should retain the information used to
complete their application.
More Information
To find the latest information on CFAP, visit http://farmers.gov/cfap or
call 877-508-8364.
All USDA Service Centers are open for business, including some that are
open to visitors to conduct business in person by appointment only. All
Service Center visitors wishing to conduct business with FSA, Natural
Resources Conservation Service or any other Service Center agency should
call ahead and schedule an appointment. Service Centers that are open for
appointments will pre-screen visitors based on health concerns or recent
travel and visitors must adhere to social distancing guidelines. Visitors
may also be required to wear a face covering during their appointment.
Field work will continue with appropriate social distancing. Our program
delivery staff will be in the office, and they will be working with our
producers in office, by phone and using online tools. More information can
be found at http://farmers.gov/coronavirus.