Qualify for SURE? Or EQIP Funding?

Before getting into a continuing discussion of the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Program (SURE), a deadline announcement:

Friday, March 12, 2010, is the cutoff date for Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) Organic Initiative applications in Kansas to be considered for Fiscal Year 2010 requested funding.

Stop by your local U.S. Department of Agriculture Service Center and visit with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) or local conservation district staff to get more information about helping address your resource concerns.

For Bourbon County producers, contact NRCS at 1515 S. Judson , Suite B, Fort Scott, Kan., 66701; phone (620) 223-3170; or websites at http://www.ks.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/eqip/2010 or www.ks.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/whip/2010.

Turning attention now to one of the new disaster programs born of our last farm bill: This is a revenue based disaster program intended to provide some added coverage for producers in years when farm revenues are down.

As stated in earlier columns, the basic qualification requirements include 1) a producer must either be in a secretarial disaster designated county or neighboring county, or experience a 50 percent loss in total revenue; and 2) a producer must have insured all crops with regular crop insurance or with Noninsured Assistance Program (NAP) coverage through FSA as applicable. SURE deals with all mechanically harvested crops (grazing not included).

Please Note: Bourbon County is in a disaster declared area, so producers do not have to meet the 50 percent total loss requirement. If a 10 percent loss criterion is met on one crop, a producer may qualify for possible program benefits. Another factor in favor of applicants is that the financial stimulus legislation passed early last year slightly raised the level of SURE benefits for 2008 only.

Since this program is revenue based, we must wait until the marketing year concludes on harvested crops before actual losses can be computed. That means the sign up is generally nearly a year behind, i.e. we are now working on the 2008 crop year.

Each producer's responsibility in covering risk on the farm (and a requirement for SURE eligibility) is to have crops insured with either multi-peril crop insurance or with the NAP coverage offered by FSA. Then SURE provides an added coverage benefit for producers. The exception to this insurance requirement is if a crop is considered NOT to be of "economic significance" -- any crop that contributed, or is expected to contribute, five percent or more of the total expected value of all crops grown by the producer -- then coverage is not required.

Figuring out if someone will benefit from this program is not always simple. Some producers are not eligible because they have non-insured double cropped soybeans or hay; others have a relatively small value of hay, so qualify anyway (not economically significant); while others are adequately insured and are qualifying for a SURE benefit.

We have computed a number of potential SURE customers. Our best guess at this point is that from 25 to 30 percent of producers could qualify for some benefit under the 2008 SURE provisions.

Our staff is currently examining the SURE possibilities for those inquiring about the program. Unfortunately, we have not yet found a good way to quickly review farms and determine which ones might qualify and which ones will not. If you are interested in exploring the SURE possibilities for your farm operation, please give our office a call at (620) 223-1880 or stop by at 1515 S. Judson in Fort Scott.

USDA is an equal opportunity employer, provider, and lender.

Editor's Note: Doug Niemeir is the County Executive Director for the USDA/Farm Service Agency. He can be reached by emailing him at Douglas.Niemeir@ks.usda.gov