SIGNUP FOR FARM PRICE SUPPORT ENDS SEPT. 30

If you own Iowa Farm Land, be sure the land is signed up for USDA Programs!

What do I have to do as a landlord to sign up?  The deadline  is Sept. 30, 2015.

If there is no tenant for next year, because you have terminated the lease or recently acquired the land because of an inheritance or other award, you should talk to the tenant for next year and talk to the local FSA (Farm Service Agency) office in the county where the farm is located. 

They will guide you through the process, the advantage is that the farm will be worth perhaps $50 or more in added rental value if the farm is "signed up" in the program.

The new programs, established by the 2014 Farm Bill, trigger financial protections for agricultural producers when market forces cause substantial drops in crop prices or revenues.

Nationwide, 96 percent of soybean farms &  91 percent of corn farms are signed up into the Price Loss Coverage (PLC) Program.  This means you are a very rare individual if the farm is not signed up!

What do I need to do next?

If you are like most landlords and take cash rent payments, the only thing you need to do is make sure the sign up took place, cooperate with the tenant and any signing which needs to be done, and then monitor the farm for compliance.

What Kind Of Compliance?

Know this:  A farm needs to stay in compliance with all conservation and weed control rules.  If the farm does not stay 'clean,' then the County Committee may elect to terminate the contract for the program.

Tenants enrolled in the programs must protect  the farm from wind and water erosion and noxious weeds.

Being out of the program will cost you money!