Enroll DCP farms early to prevent processing delays

The program has provided fixed, guaranteed ?direct? payments to producers each year with additional ?counter cyclical? payments to producers when the average market price of a commodity has fallen below the loan rate of that commodity for a twelve month period. The program payments for DCP are ?tied to? crop acreage bases for commodities established on farms during the years 1996-2001.

Local Farm Service Agency offices have come to rely more frequently on internet operations for processing enrollment in farm programs and various program eligibility provisions. Because of the nationwide effort to have technology available to county offices and for county offices to have the ability to verify a producer?s records regardless of the county or state, some USDA information processes have slowed resulting in delays within USDA?s computer environment.

Steve Stubblefield, local director of the Warren County Farm Service Agency, asks producers to call ahead or schedule appointments when visiting the county office to enroll in the 2007 Direct-Counter Cyclical Payment program.

?Presently, county office throughout the south-central U.S., have been asked to delay entering or processing applications for various programs except between the hours of noon and 5 p.m.,? he said.

The county office and staff will process the applications as time permits. Hopefully, these delays will be resolved very soon, but for now, the local office is only able to enroll producers in the Direct & Counter Cyclical Payment program during the above hours of operation.

The final date for enrollment in the 2007 DCP is June 1. Producers and landowners can enroll after this date, however there is a $100 late enrollment fee that is applied to contracts after this date.

Stubblefield encourages producers to contact the county office for completing the enrollment process.

?If we know a producer will be in on a particular date or time, we can process the necessary papers and have much of this ready prior to their arrival,? he explained. ?With almost 400 applications to process, now is the time to begin enrollment. Farmers and landowners should consider this as part of their financial planning and preparations for the new crop year.?

The county director also commented that changes have occurred in the amount of ?advance direct payments? issued this year. During the 2006 crop year, producers were limited to an advance, direct payment of 40 percent. For 2007, the advance, direct payment is equal to 22 percent of the total direct payment to be issued for the farm.

The Warren County FSA Office is located at 811 Faulkner Springs Road, McMinnville, Tennessee. The county office is open from 8:00-4:30 Monday through Friday and may be reached by telephone at (931) 473-2277.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its program and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital for family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication or program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA?s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice or TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW. Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call (202) 720-5964 (voice or TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.