Farm owners reminded to update info
In Farm Service Agency terms, farms are constituted to group all tracts having the same owner and the same operator under one farm serial number.
When changes in ownership or operation take place, a farm reconstitution ? or ?recon? ? is the process of combining or dividing farms or tracts of land based on the farming operations.
?Farmers and landowners are often reminded of the need to update their information regarding farm reconstitutions,? said Steve Glenn, Vice Chairman of the Warren County FSA Committee. ?Without these updates, information and program participation obtained from a producer or other growers on a farm, will be outdated, may result in overpayments or underpayments, or prevent eligible owners and operators from participating in current farm programs.?
Different methods may be used when doing a farm recon. For the reconstitution to be effective for the current year, recons must be requested by Aug. 1 for those farms enrolled in the Direct and Counter Cyclical program. Some of the different methods used for farm reconstitutions include the Estate method, Designation by Landowner, Default method, and DCP Cropland method.
The Estate method is the division of bases, allotments and quotas for a parent farm among the heirs in settling an estate.
Designation by Landowner may be used when (1) part of a farm is sold or ownership is transferred; (2) when an entire farm is sold to two or more persons; (3) when farm ownership is transferred to two or more persons; (4) when part of a tract is sold or ownership is transferred; (5) when a tract is sold to two or more persons; or (6) when tract ownership is transferred to two or more persons. This method of farm division cannot be used to divide allotments or quotas, if the parent farm is located in two or more counties and the allotments and quotas cannot be transferred from one county to another by sale, lease or owner. In order to use this method the land sold must have been owned for at least three years, or a waiver granted, and the buyer and seller must sign a Memorandum of Understanding.
The Default method of reconstitutions is the division of bases for a parent farm with each tract maintaining the bases attributed to the tract level when the reconstitution is initiated in the system.
DCP Cropland method is the division of bases in the same proportion that the DCP cropland for each resulting tract related to the DCP cropland on the parent tract. This method is most often used by farmers and owners who have commodity bases established on their farms.
Glenn says the final date to request a 2006 farm reconstitution is Aug. 1, 2006. If 2006 DCP direct payments have already been issued on the farm, the reconstitution will be effective for 2007, unless the payments are refunded. Producers who have made changes in their farming operations, should contact the local FSA service center located at 811 Faulkner Springs road to report these changes as they occur.