Producers required to maintain beneficial interest in commodities for LDP?s and loans

It won?t be long until the sounds and smells of the crisp fall air will join the whine of the diesel engines, the clouds of soybean dust and corn fodder left behind in the wake of mammoth harvesting machines. The harvest of corn to be used as silage has begun. Soon the hum of road tractors will blend with other cars and trucks as producers deliver their crops to granaries and collection points.

USDA and the Farm Service Agency (FSA) provide Marketing Assistance Loans and Loan Deficiency Payments (LDPs) to eligible producers when the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) determined value falls below the loan rate for the commodity. They are also available if these commodities are harvested as other than whole grain, such as silage and hay.

?Loan Deficiency Payments (LDPs) are payments made to producers who, although eligible to obtain a CCC loan from the Farm Service Agency, agree to forego the loan in return for a payment,? said Darla Campbell, program technician with the Warren County FSA Office.

?For a commodity to be eligible for a marketing assistance loan or a loan deficiency payment, the producer must have beneficial interest in the commodity. Producers retain their beneficial interest if they retain (1) control of the commodity; (2) have risk of loss of the commodity; and (3) retain title to the commodity. For LDPs, the producer must retain beneficial interest in the commodity from the time of harvest through the date the LDP is requested.?

Producers who receive any payment that would give the buyer any share of the equity in the commodity, immediately become ineligible for a marketing assistance loan or LDP. If a producer sells any equity in the commodity after it has been pledged as collateral for a market assistance loan, repayment of the loan principal and charges, plus interest, is required.

Campbell says that producers should visit the local FSA farm service center and complete Form CCC-633 EZ to insure their eligibility to obtain benefits through the marketing assistance loans or loan deficiency payments.

?During this past week, corn had a $0.06 per bushel deficiency payment; soybeans reached $0.04 per bushel,? said Campbell. ?We encourage producers to sign form CCC-633 EZ to remain eligible for LDPs.?

Additional forms are also required if not already on file.

Producers should visit the Warren County Farm Service Center located at 811 Faulkner Springs Road during regular business hours of 8:00-4:30 Monday through Friday to complete the EZ form.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis or race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA?s TARGET Center at 202-720-2600 (voice and TDD).

To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (202) 720-5964 (voice and TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.