Tara Solomon gets ready to administer polio vacination to young Indian child.

As we enter into the final year of the current Farm Bill legislation, farms can now be enrolled into the Direct and Counter-cyclical Program (DCP) or the Average Crop Revenue Election Program (ACRE) at their local Farm Service Agency (FSA) office. The enrollment period started on Jan. 23, and will conclude on June 1.

Since 2009, producers have had the option to participate in either DCP or ACRE. A producer who initially chose to enroll in DCP has the option to switch to ACRE during the 2012 enrollment period; however, producers who chose to enroll in ACRE cannot switch back to DCP.

Adrian J. Polansky, state executive director of USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) in Kansas, recently issued a press release reminding producers of this enrollment opportunity that is now available. The beginning of the enrollment period was delayed this year for several weeks to permit FSA offices to get on track with the disaster program applications (SURE) for 2010, now also being accepted.

DCP payments are calculated using base acres and payment yields established for each farm. Eligible producers receive direct payments at rates established by statute regardless of market prices. The 2008 Farm Bill states that no advanced payments will be issued for 2012. The entire DCP payment will be issued after Oct. 1, 2012.

Counter-cyclical payments vary depending on market prices and are issued only when the effective price for a commodity is below its target price (which takes into account the direct payment rate, market price and loan rate). With the higher market levels witnessed over the past couple of years, no counter-cyclical payments have been issued to area producers for a number of years.

For DCP or ACRE participation, "New contracts are required annually, and all signatures must be obtained by the deadline," Polansky said. "We encourage producers to contact their local FSA office and set up an appointment to begin the enrollment process as soon as possible."

Producers with an active USDA eAuthentication Level 2 account can fill out a DCP contract online. To get a Level 2 account, producers must complete an online registration form at http://www.eauth.egov.usda.gov and then visit the local USDA Service Center to verify their identity.

As mentioned above, making an enrollment time appointment is recommended to save time for customers by eliminating waiting in line and by permitting county office staff to prepare as much as possible prior to your visit (rather than after you get here).

We also will be asking for assistance from farm operators in getting signed program documents back from landlords. In past years, our office has mailed many of these out for the needed signatures. However, this year our operating allocation is noticeably less compared to past years. We simply will not have resources available to mail out very many of the needed enrollment documents. Consequently, we are encouraging producers to go ahead and get signed up now to avoid having to work with a more condensed timeframe come May.

Another effort our offices are making to more timely and cost effectively communicate with our farmer and rancher customers is to gather email addresses and cell phone numbers for possible contact using these fast and inexpensive methods. If you have not yet shared your information with our office, please do that soon. For more information about DCP or ACRE, please contact the local FSA office or go online at http://www.fsa.usda.gov.

Bourbon County producers can call (620) 223-1880 or come by the office at 1515 S. Judson in Fort Scott.

Editor's Note: Doug Niemeir may be reached by emailing him at Douglas.Niemeir@ks.usda.gov.