Crop Commodity Loan
Disbursements Resume
USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) announced TODAYthe resumption of 2013 Crop Commodity Loan Disbursements.
Crop year 2013 commodity loan-making was suspended Oct. 1, 2013, to make changes necessary to accommodate the automatic funding reductions known as sequester. Sequestration is mandated by the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 as amended by the Budget Control Act of 2011.
The commodity loan programs provide interim financing to producers for agricultural commodities stored after harvest and then sold throughout the year. Producers requesting 2013 crop commodity loans on their harvested commodities now will have a 5.1 percent reduction to the loan amount upon its disbursement, due to the sequestration. Commodity loans issued by marketing associations and loan servicing agents are also subject to the sequestration reduction.
During the period that loan-making was suspended, producers were still able to submit loan applications to their county FSA offices, marketing associations and loan servicing agents. The processing and disbursement of these applications will begin immediately.
For further information about commodity marketing loans, farmers may contact their local county FSA office or go online to www.fsa.usda.gov.
As an example, Tulare County USDA Service Center posted on its website:
The election of agricultural producers to the Farm Service Agency (FSA) that every eligible producer participate in these elections because FSA county committees are a link between the agricultural community and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
County Committee (COC) members are a critical component of FSA operations. The intent is to have the COC reflect the diversity of producers and represent all constituents. This means that minorities, women or lower income producers need to be on the committee to speak for underrepresented groups.
County Committee election ballots will be mailed to eligible Local Administrative Area (LAA) 2 voters on Nov. 4, 2013. The last day to return completed ballots to the USDA Service Center is Dec. 2, 2013.
