The U.S. Department of Agriculture is reminding the public – agriculture producers in particular – that they can report acreage for perennial crops once without being required to report it in subsequent years.
The continuous certification option is only valid until there are applicable changes to the farm, according to a Jan. 11 news release. This option can be chosen once the Farm Service Agency has certified the acreage report.
“FSA’s continuous certification option simplifies future acreage reporting of perennial crops, and it can also help streamline the application process for many of our farm programs, including disaster assistance programs," Farm Service Agency Administrator Zach Ducheneaux said in the release. "For example, when persistent drought conditions over the past year affected livestock producers in the West and Great Plains, producers who had previously filed a continuous acreage report were able to benefit from a streamlined application process for the Livestock Forage Disaster Program.”
An acreage report records what crops are grown on a property, as well as the uses these crops are intended for, the release said. Acceptance into many USDA programs depends on the submission of accurate, timely acreage reports, which must include failed acreage and prevented planting acreage.
Ducheneaux reported less than half of the 336.5 million acres of perennial forage is being reported using the continuous certification process. He added producers can help streamline the reporting process by selecting "continuous certification" after filing a crop acreage report.
