Programs set to help dairy, crop, beef producers

By MONETTE TAYLOR | South Central Texas Edition

Feb. 12, 2004 -- With the Farm Bill 2002, numerous changes have occurred in the agricultural community, and with recent cuts in the national budget for agriculture, more are sure to come.

One agency under the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the Farm Service Agency (FSA). While the FSA has, also, gone through changes over the years, it remains a primary source of assistance to ag producers.

The FSA, as we know it, today, was set up when the USDA was reorganized in 1994, incorporating programs from several agencies. These agencies included the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service, the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (now a separate Risk Management Agency), and the Farmers Home Administration. Even if the name of the agency has changed over the years, the relationship with farmers goes back to the 1930s, according to FSA information.

Each county in Texas is assigned a FSA office, and farmers who are eligible to participate in the agency's programs elect a three- to- five-person county committee, which reviews county office operations and makes decisions on how to apply the money in the programs.

Obviously, with the diversity of the land and weather in different parts of Texas, some of the programs are more active in parts of the state rather than others. Some of the agency's most active programs are the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), Milk Income Loss Contract Program (MILC), Direct and Counter-cyclical Payment Program (DCP), Livestock Compensation Program (LCP), and one of the largest programs involves FSA making and guaranteeing loans to family farmers and ranchers to purchase farmland and finance agricultural production.

At press time, the latest figures for FSA total payments to Texas from all programs covered show loan payments at $190 million, with $1.5 billion being spent on commodities programs.

"It's hard to actually tie into fiscal or calendar years ...," said Brenda Carlson, Southwest region public affairs specialist for Texas.

A sampling of FSA payments throughout the state were reviewed from the Central, South Central, and East Texas regions. Looking at totals over the state, it is obvious why some counties in the western regions need crop assistance because of the drought, as well as some in the south who had too much moisture.

Raymond C. Marr of Bell County, near the center of Texas, said his county had acquired $4.4 million in payments in 2003, but the payments were actually from the 2001-2002 year crops.

Down in Calhoun County, John Watkins, FSA county executive director said his county had received $5,984,641 ... most from the crop disaster program ... since they have 27,000 acres of cotton in the area.

In Navarro County, in Central Texas, Edward Wilkie reported that his county received $4,452,458 in payments, including $1,882,180 in crop disaster payments.

Finally, in the East Texas region, Hopkins County, reports show the total dollars spent in the county, to date, are $12,447,299.

Producers who would like more information concerning FSA programs should contact their local FSA office in their county or online at www.fsa.usda.gov/tx.